ATA and AMA Team Up to Increase Reimbursement for Telehealth

In a move aimed at increasing reimbursement for telehealth services, the American Telemedicine Association (ATA) and American Medical Association (AMA) are working together to suggest new CPT codes to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) later this month. If accepted, the new codes would allow CMS to recognize and reimburse more telemedicine services.

The effort is being led by the ATA and backed by the AMA, which has created a 50-member panel to develop new codes for remote visit tools, among other applications. To ensure that the new CPT code set accurately reflects advancements in technology and telemedicine, the new workgroup will incorporate input from the AMA’s Telehealth Services Workgroup. The new codes will likely fit nicely with the CMS’s recent actions to designate new codes to reimburse for annual telehealth consultations, psychotherapy, psychoanalysis, and other long-term services.

CMS may be open to accepting the new suggestions; after all, the 2015 Medicare physician fee schedule introduced seven codes that provide limited reimbursement for telemedicine when used for annual wellness visits, prolonged office visits, or psychotherapy. Telehealth advocates and physicians have welcomed these codes but note that they’re difficult to use; many doctors are believed to be losing thousands of dollars by simply skipping the codes.

swyMed is pleased to see that the U.S. healthcare system is moving towards more widespread reimbursements for telemedicine—especially since our flexible platform can be used for the wellness visits, psychological applications, and long-term health management alluded to above.

To learn more about how swyMed can be used in your medical setting, contact us today for a free demo at swyMed.com!