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A second wave of policy and payment changes that CMS released today is reshaping – yet again – how the medical community can conduct care during the COVID-19 crisis and, critically, how much providers can expect to get paid.
 
In a wide-ranging update to policy guidance that CMS is touting as a “second round of sweeping changes,” the agency seeks to further expand COVID care, ramp up diagnostic testing and again loosen restrictions on which types of providers can deliver vital services like telehealth during this unprecedented emergency.
 
 
Take heed of new guidance CMS issued today to ensure you're getting paid in full for certain COVID-19 encounters. When taking the liberty to waive patient's cost-sharing, you should be appending your COVID-19 testing-related claims with the modifier CS.
 
 
Among the dozens of codes that CMS approved for use through telehealth during the COVID-19 emergency, you’ll find an array of E/M services, speech and physical therapy encounters and cognitive assessment codes.
 
 
You'll find an additional 90 codes, including home visits (99341-99350) and critical care codes (99291-99292), that are billable to Medicare when your providers use telehealth services for the patient encounters.
 
 
Practices interested in how to code telehealth visits and encounters involving COVID-19 -- in light of recent waivers and policy changes -- can review 11 new coding scenarios released March 25 by the AMA.
 

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