On July 25, 2020, Health and Human Services Secretary Azar extended the Public Health Emergency (PHE) until October 23, 2020. As a result, several of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) temporary coverage and payment policies established under the PHE will continue Some of the continuing policies are: a twenty percent add-on payment for COVID-19 inpatients; mandatory coverage of COVID-19 testing without beneficiary cost sharing, and continued relaxation of the telehealth guidelines.

Closer to home, on July 31, 2020, Connecticut Governor Lamont signed into law Bill No. 6001 making additional modifications to the existing telehealth guidelines. The new law expands the clinicians authorized to provide telehealth services to include dentists and genetic counselors. In addition, the law allows out-of-state providers to provide telehealth services in Connecticut without a Connecticut license as long as certain criteria are met. The law also requires providers to limit reimbursement from uninsured patients receiving telehealth services to the Medicare reimbursement amount.

The provisions enacted under the new law are in effect until March 15, 2021 and apply to in-network providers of fully insured plans and providers enrolled in the Connecticut Medical Assistance Program. View more information on the provisions of the law.

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