Medicare Compliance & Reimbursement

Practices that are eager to use the Medicare telehealth benefit have a new option — certified registered nurse anesthetists (CRNAs) can now collect for this service.

On March 11, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released an MLN Matters article outlining a few changes to the telehealth benefit, one of which is that CRNAs can now collect for the service. CRNAs must meet all of the following requirements to report telehealth services, according to MLN Matters article MM9428:

• The service must be on the list of Medicare telehealth services
• It must be furnished via an interactive telecommunications system
• The service must be furnished by a physician or authorized practitioner
• It must be furnished to an eligible telehealth individual, and
• The person receiving the service must be located in a telehealth originating site.

The implementation date for the new changes is April 11. To read more about CMS’s update to telehealth services, visit www.cms.gov/Outreach-and-Education/Medicare-Learning-Network-MLN/MLNMattersArticles/Downloads/MM9428.pdf.