On July 14, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released its proposed rule for the 2026 Physician Fee Schedule. As expected, there are several meaningful updates that providers, practices, and health systems should be aware of.

One of the more significant changes is that CMS will split the conversion factor into two separate

Our Introduction to Telehealth, Technology and Federal Enforcement chapter was published in the Thomson Reuters 2025 Health Law Handbook.  It reviewed a number of telehealth Medicare revisions, both permanent and temporary, enacted by a series of consolidated appropriation acts and physician fee schedule amendments arising out of the 2020 COVID pandemic.

The temporary telehealth

CMS proposed several telehealth changes in the 2025 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule Proposed Rule, issued July 10, 2024. 

Interactive Telecommunication

Beginning January 1, 2025, an interactive telecommunication system may include two-way, real-time audio-only communication technology for any telehealth service furnished to a beneficiary in their home, if the distant site physician or practitioner is technically

The US Office of Inspector General (OIG) released another in a series of Special Fraud Alerts on July 20, 2022, this one directed to potentially fraudulent telehealth, telemedicine, and telemarketing service fraud schemes, collectively referred to as “Telemedicine Companies”.  The alert is based upon OIG’s perception that these Telemedicine Companies are engaged in schemes to

The President and Congress extended Medicare telehealth coverage in the Consolidated Appropriations Act, which also included additional Ukrainian relief.

On Tuesday, March 15, 2022, President Biden signed the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2022 (“2022 CAA”).  This new law includes several provisions that extend the Medicare telehealth waivers and flexibilities, implemented as a result of COVID-19 to

In MLN Matters article MM 12159, CMS has published summaries of the following:

  • Updates to payment policies and Medicare payment rates for services provided by physicians and non-physician practitioners (NPP)
  • Updates to Medicare telehealth services and telehealth originating site facility fee payment amounts
  • Billing for a physician assistant (PA) services

 

The Pennsylvania Senate announced on October 26, 2021 that it has passed Senate Bill 705, and a copy of the Senate Press Release can be found at https://www.pasenategop.com/blog/senate-approves-telemedicine-bill/.

A previous telemedicine bill was passed in Pennsylvania in July of 2018, when the Pennsylvania Senate approved Bill 780, which was discussed in my MedLaw