Medicare’s Expanded Telemedicine Coverage for 2022
Medicare is continuing its expansion of telehealth services after they proved popular at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. This continuation is for all of 2022 and ’23 as well.
Telehealth services were encouraged for much of 2020 and into 2021 in order to slow the spread of COVID-19 before vaccines became widespread.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) says the extension is being put into place through the end of 2023 so that each aspect of the telehealth benefits can be evaluated to see if they will be a permanent benefit.
Centers Health Care has a look at the services that are still being offered by Medicaid through telemedicine.
Mental Health Services More Widely Available
Mental health services obtained online or over the phone (which is sometimes the only option in rural areas) will be covered by Medicare.
These services include counseling, behavioral health services, and substance abuse treatment.
This gives people more options and easier access to such critical care, removing barriers that have prevented lots of those needing services like this from acquiring them in the past.
Home Visits Included
Category 3 telehealth services also include home visits for established patients of a practice or physician along with emergency department visits, critical care services, and hospital and nursing facility discharge day management services.
Other Services Require Video Connection
Unless an exemption is granted on an individual basis, those seeking other services on the Medicare telehealth list need to have an audio and video connection to provide a live, two-way communication between a patient and provider.
