State Office of Rural Health: COVID-19 Telehealth Flexibilities Extended

COVID-19 Telehealth Flexibilities Extended

On Dec. 29, President Biden signed the H.R. 2617: Fiscal Year 2023 Consolidated Appropriations Act which extends COVID-19 Medicare telehealth flexibilities until Dec. 31, 2024. HR2617 extends the telehealth flexibilities that were passed in the budget bill for FY22 that included the 151-day extension at the end of the public health emergency. These flexibilities include:

• Temporary suspension of the geographic site requirement.
• Allowing the home as an eligible originating site.
• Allowing providers, such as FQHCs and RHCs, to continue to be eligible telehealth providers.
• Removing facility fees for patients receiving telemedicine services in their homes.
• Delaying the in-person visit requirement before a patient may be eligible for telemental health services.
• Allowing the continued use of audio-only telehealth services. 

PHE Update: The public health emergency has been formally extended through April 11, 2023. The Biden Administration stated early in 2022 that they would give states a 60-day notification of when the PHE is scheduled to come to an end. We can assume that if the PHE will be coming to an end, there should be notification around Feb 11, 2023. 

2023 Physician Fee Schedule: Check out this fact sheet on CMS’s final 2023 Physician Fee Schedule rule. The policies went into effect January 1, 2023.