The COVID-19-era flexibilities for telemedicine in Medicare will last at least another five months following recent action by Congress.
A spending package signed by President Joe Biden on March 15 extends some of those flexibilities for an additional 151 days after the public health emergency officially ends. These extended flexibilities allow:
- Medicare patients to continue receiving telemedicine services from their homes;
- Physicians to continue receiving payment for audio-only visits; and
- Medicare patients to receive a telemedicine mental health visit without having an in-person visit first.
The temporary extension allows Congress more time to study the impacts of expanding telehealth access and Medicare and whether the flexibilities should be made permanent.
The Texas Medical Association has developed and curated numerous resources to help you adopt and adapt to telemedicine to augment your brick-and-mortar practice. Check them out on TMA’s Telemedicine page.
For questions about TMA telemedicine resources or other office technologies, contact the TMA Knowledge Center by calling (800) 880-1300 or by email.
Last Updated On
March 23, 2022
Originally Published On
March 23, 2022