Prior to COVID-19, California’s Medicaid program (Medi-Cal) had one of the most robust telehealth policies in the nation. While Medi-Cal had updated their Provider Manual in the summer of 2019 with more expansive policy around telehealth, even with these progressive policies, temporary changes were needed to allow telehealth to be utilized more widely and effectively in the face of COVID-19.
The combined relief-spending bill passed by Congress in late December 2020 included several telehealth-related provisions. Chief among them are the addition of a new Medicare payment designation, new flexibilities for rural hospitals, and significant funding for broadband access efforts. Several other notable telehealth-related provisions were tucked into the bill and CCHP has developed a factsheet summarizing what you need to know.
On Dec. 1, 2020, the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) published their Final Calendar Year (CY) 2021 revisions related to the Physicians Fee Schedule (PFS). Telehealth changes are prevalent throughout the 2000+ page document, and CCHP has broken it all down in this factsheet.
CCHP has created a factsheet to help provide clarity on which type of providers and what type of activities the PREP Act declaration covers, as it does NOT apply to all types of healthcare providers or services.
