On March 15, 2022, President Biden signed into law the $1.5 trillion Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2022 (the “Omnibus Bill”). Included in the 2,700+ page Omnibus Bill is an extension of Medicare coverage of professional consultations, office visits, and office psychiatry services conducted via telemedicine for 151 days after the end of the designated public health emergency (“PHE”).
Prior to the PHE, in order to qualify for Medicare coverage:
Administrative and legislative changes made in March 2020 as part of the government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic waived these location and technology requirements for the duration of the PHE. These waivers of location and technology requirements are now extended further under the Omnibus Bill.
Additionally, the Omnibus Bill expands the types of practitioners eligible to provide telehealth services to patients. Prior to the PHE, Medicare covered telehealth services only if offered by physicians, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, clinical nurse specialists, nurse-midwives, clinical psychologists, clinical social workers, registered dieticians or certified registered nurse anesthetists. Under the Omnibus Bill, qualifying practitioners now include occupational therapists, physical therapists, speech-language pathologists and audiologists. Other changes include delaying in-person requirements for the provision of mental health services and extending coverage of telehealth services rendered by federally qualified health centers to provide telehealth services for the same 151 day post-PHE period.
While these changes are welcomed by many in the healthcare industry as a necessary resource and buffer for telehealth patients and providers, it remains to be seen whether additional coverage flexibilities, beyond certain limited opioid treatment program expansion and counseling therapy telehealth coverage expansion under CY 2022 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule Final Rule, established during the PHE will become permanent moving forward. The Omnibus Bill requires the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission to provide Congress with a report by June 15, 2023 on the expansion of telehealth services as a result of the PHE. The Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General is similarly required to provider Congress with a report by June 15, 2023 on program integrity risks associates with Medicare telehealth services. In addition, the Department of Health and Human Services must post quarterly data, starting July 1, 2022, on Medicare claims for telemedicine services.
We will continue to monitor these and other legislative and regulatory changes impacting telehealth industry stakeholders.