Medicare and Coronavirus: What You Need to Know
Reading Time: 2 MinutesLast Updated: February 21, 2023
With the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19), being informed about your Medicare coverage is more important than ever.
Medicare recently expanded its coverage of telehealth services. Telehealth enables beneficiaries to receive a wider range of healthcare services from doctors without having to travel to a healthcare facility. It also helps frontline clinicians stay safe themselves while treating people.
If your doctor orders a COVID-19 test for you, Medicare covers all of the costs. You should not have any co-pay, no matter what Medicare plan you’re enrolled in. There’s no vaccine for COVID-19 at this time, but when one becomes available, Medicare will cover it.
Medicare also covers all medically necessary hospitalizations. This includes extra days in the hospital for in-patients who were on the verge of being discharged, but were diagnosed with COVID-19 and had to stay longer under quarantine.
Doctors, nurse practitioners, clinical psychologists, and licensed clinical social workers can deliver telehealth services. Medicare beneficiaries can receive telehealth services in their home, as well as in any healthcare facility, a physician’s office, hospital, nursing home, or rural health clinic.
Telehealth services can include routine office visits, mental health counseling, and preventive health screenings for cancer and other illnesses.
By helping healthcare institutions across the nation offer medical services remotely, telehealth helps free up hospital emergency departments and doctors’ offices to deal with the most urgent COVID-19 cases.
During this emergency, Medicare will pay for telehealth services at the same rates as in-person services, giving doctors and other medical professionals the opportunity to reserve their offices to treat those who truly require in-person care.
We know many Medicare beneficiaries are concerned about the spread of coronavirus and the threat it poses to their well-being. That’s why we’ve taken these rapid steps to ensure that the Medicare program continues to protect our beneficiaries while maintaining trusted access to care in these uncertain times.
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Joseph M.
Why is CMS the only insurance not covering Telehealth for Physical Therapy? We do not prescribe drugs,injections or surgeries and can easily assess and treat musculo-skeletal pain as well as increase mobility and strength is a time when seniors are housebound.
Cathy C.
As you stated in your final paragraph- it is important for Medicare Beneficiaries to have access to telehealth services during this pandemic. Please consider allowing physical therapists and other essential healthcare providers to be able to provide needed care for home bound Medicare Beneficiaries via Telehealth. This is proactive measure to keep many aging adults mobile and functional, and will likely reduce long term care needs. Please trust us to do our jobs and provide the care that will allow other health professionals to focus on their care areas.
Brittany M.
Administrator,
As a physical therapist in an outpatient facility, I have many pts that could continue to benefit from physical therapy via telehealth during this time when they are unable to come to the clinic. Please respond with some answer regarding expanding telehealth services to physical therapists, occupational therapists and speech-language pathologists under Medicare Part B. Many major insurance carriers and state Medicaid programs have already done this. Medicare needs to follow suit to provide this service.
Thank you
Ashish K.
Good Morning Mrs. Verma, I am physical therapist and am currently able to to see patients over telemedicine and have been doing so over the last 2 years. I have to say that the ability to be able to see my patients over this medium is incredibly advantageous for the patient even when there is not a pandemic. It is needed even more so now as none of us are sure how long this pandemic will last and the people that will suffer the most from this will be the patients with Medicare. I explore you to add physical therapist, occupational therapist and speech pathologist to the list of individuals that may perform Telehealth services. If you would like to contact me regarding any further questions please feel free to.
Sincerely,
Ashish
Dan M.
Today would be a great day to add Physical Therapists to the telehealth provider list.
Ryan P.
Administrator Verma,
Please consider using your regulatory authority established in the CARES act to append Physical Therapists, Occupational Therapists, and Speech Language Pathologists to the list of approved Telehealth providers so that we can bill the codes you have already approved for telehealth to help our Medicare patients.
They are often in pain, and are at highest risk of contracting Coronavirus. I call them multiple times a week to check in on them and help as I can, but little can be done until you expand our ability to care for them as so many private insurers and states have done. Please – do the right thing for your beneficiaries, and ensure they can receive the care they so desperately need.
Please Admin Verma, please extend your hand in grace to them. Please add PT/OT/SLP as telehealth providers so that we can help this vulnerable population.
Jeremy R.
Administrator Verma
Please respond with an answer regarding expanding telehealth services to physical therapists, occupational therapists and speech-language pathologists under Medicare Part B. Many major insurance carriers and state Medicaid programs have already done this. Is this something you are even considering?
Are you aware of the delay in care that the seemingly small detail in the interim rule has created? So many providers at institutional based clinics (such as hospital outpatient departments) would like to be able to serve
Medicare patients in this way. Our doors are open for ambulatory care and yet, bc we evaluate and treat patients that tend to be older and have more medical comorbidities, they are very hesitant to come right now bc they are more vulnerable to COVID19. We need to be able offer them the Telehealth option. PLEASE act!
Robbie
I urge CMS to link physical therapists as qualified digital providers of telehealth. Myself and other colleagues have been able to successfully treat ,via telehealth, many of our patients. Unfortunately, Medicare recipients aren’t able to receive care from a licensed Physical Therapist, due to the lack of action by CMS. Their decision or lack of decision only prolongs pain and suffering for our patients, burdens ER’s /physicians offices, and front lCOVIID 19 healthcare providers with MSK diagnoses,. In addition, this decision ultimately will increase costs as witnessed by large actuarial studies such as the Moran and Millikan studies.
Please act NOW to link PT’s as qualified digital healthcare providers.
Jen
When are you adding physical, occupational and speech therapists to Telehealth as I work with people with Parkinsons, Strokes, ALS and MS who are falling daily. I could help them have a better safe outcome at home and stay out of the hospital. They are calling 911 daily to pick them up off the floor. My other client is unable to communicate after a stroke due to aphasia. Our speech therapist could be working with her family via Telehealth. Another client with dementia can’t care for herself. Her spouse needs OT to train him to change her depends and keep her clean to avoid bed sores. It’s just terrible. Neurodegenerative disease need intense therapy now!!!! Yet all we can tell them is CMS hasn’t approved it. Sorry….
Jay M.
I agree that a telemedicine expansion is very appropriate at this time. When does CMS anticipate adding physical therapists, occupational therapists, and speech language pathologists to the list of providers who can provide telehealth? This action has already been taken by most private insurers. We need to all we can to care for Medicare recipients in a way that keeps them as safe as possible.