The beat goes on: Medicare will keep working on some PHE waivers after May 11

by: Julia Kyles, CPC Apr 27, 2023

Watch for updates on Medicare COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE) waivers that were not extended by the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023. According to CMS officials, the agency could release future rulemaking on two such waivers that are currently set to expire Dec. 31, 2023:

Providers can perform direct supervision via a real-time audio/visual connection.
Residents can perform telephone E/M visits (99441-99443) under the primary care exception.

The remarks came during the National Office Hours Call on the Ending of the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency. The online call took place April 25 and CMS will post a recording of the call, along with the handouts and a transcript of the session on this webpage, according to information posted during the call.

Stay tuned: Part B News will update this blog post when CMS releases the materials.

CMS officials also directed attendees to the provider-specific fact sheets it has created to help the medical community comply with Medicare policy when the PHE ends. You also should check with agencies such as the HHS Office of Inspector General (OIG) and Office for Civil Rights (OCR) to learn about waivers that those agencies issued in response to the PHE. For example, the OIG’s waivers for copays will expire May 11, but the OCR recently announced that it would extend its enforcement discretion for telehealth services to Aug. 9.

Part B News subscribers can access a list of expiration dates for more than 20 waivers that impact Medicare Part B services and an at-a-glance summary for treating practitioners.

Blog Tags: CMS, COVID-19

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