Foley Attorneys Discuss Proposed CMS Cuts to Audio-Only Telehealth Coverage

Foley & Lardner LLP Partners Nathaniel Lacktman, Thomas (T.J.) Ferrante, and Rachel Goodman are referenced in a HealthLeaders article, “CMS Proposes to Cut Audio-Only Telehealth Coverage,” about the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) proposal to drop Medicare coverage for audio-only telehealth services in its 2023 Physician Fee Schedule (PFS). The change would take effect once the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE) is over, which is expected to take place in 2023.

The article points to a blog post from the attorneys stating that, “With the exception of certain telemental health services, CMS stated two-way interactive audio-video telecommunications technology will continue to be the Medicare requirement for telehealth services following the PHE.”

It continues, “In CMS’ own language, ‘We believe that the statute requires that telehealth services be so analogous to in-person care such that the telehealth service is essentially a substitute for a face-to-face encounter.’ As audio-only telephone is inherently non-face-to-face, CMS determined, that modality fails to meet the statutory standard.”