Eyeworld

N EWS 36 | EYEWORLD | MAY 2020 COVID-19 NEWS YOU CAN USE by Ellen Stodola Editorial Co-Director health emergency, Medicare will make payment for professional services furnished to benefi- ciaries nationwide in all settings, including their homes), waiving HIPAA requirements (during the COVID-19 nationwide public health emergency, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services [HHS] is removing penalties for HIPAA violations against providers; com- munication technologies such as FaceTime or Skype may be used), and lifting restrictions on established vs. new patients (according to CMS, HHS will not conduct audits to ensure that such a prior relationship existed for claims submit- ted during the public health emergency; new patients are now eligible for phone calls, e-visits, and virtual check-ins). In terms of Medicare payments, Medicare will make payments for telehealth services furnished to patients in broader circumstanc- es. These visits are considered the same as A t the end of March, ASCRS host- ed the webinar "Implementing Tele-Ophthalmology During COVID-19 Pandemic," providing in- formation on options for telehealth moving forward and codes oph- thalmologists can use to reimburse these services during the pandemic. An updated version of the webinar was hosted by ASOA in early April. The webinar was presented by Ranya Habash, MD, a member of the ASCRS/ ASOA Telemedicine Task Force. It was spon- sored by Novartis. During her presentation, Dr. Habash mentioned the Centers for Medicare & Med- icaid Services' (CMS) expansion of Medicare telehealth benefits during the COVID-19 outbreak. This includes removing originating site requirements (effective March 1, 2020 and for the duration of the COVID-19 public Implementing tele-ophthalmology programs: webinar recap About the doctor Ranya Habash, MD Medical director of technology innovation Assistant professor of clinical ophthalmology Bascom Palmer Eye Institute Miami, Florida An overview of options for types of telemedicine services during the COVID-19 public health emergency with codes and reimbursement noted Source: Ranya Habash, MD Billing/Coding At A Glance Type of Service Description CPT Code Reimbursement RVUs Video Visit MD/OD/PA/NP uses real-time audio + video 99201-99205 (New Pt) 99211-99215 (Est Pt) $27-$172 (99203=$77) $9-$114 (99213=$52) 1.42 for 99203 0.97 for 99213 Phone Calls Phone call to new or established patient 99441 for 5-10 min 99442 for 11-20 min 99443 for >21 min $14 $28 $41 0.25 0.50 0.80 Virtual Check-In 5-10 minute check-in via phone/email/portal G2012 $13 0.25 Photo Review Review patient photo G2010 $9 0.18 E-Visits Online communication via portal and/or email *cumulative over 7 days 99421 for 5-10 min 99422 for 11-20 min 99423 for >21 min $13 $27 $44 0.25 0.50 0.80 Doctor-Doctor Consult (Consulting Doctor) MD/OD/PCP consult with report sent 99446 for 5-10 min 99447 for 11-20 min 99448 for 21-30 min 99449 for >31 min $18 $37 $56 $74 0.35 0.70 1.05 1.40 Doctor-Doctor Consult (Referring Doctor) MD/OD/PCP requesting consult 99452 $38 0.70

• Blank Page
• Blank Page (1)