CMS to Allow Home Health Telehealth Services During Inpatient Stay
(Oct. 15, 2024) On Oct. 10th, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released a Change Request (CR 13812) and Medicare Learning Network article (MLN 13812) announcing that as of April 1, 2025, home health agencies will not have claims rejected telehealth G codes (G032, G0321, and G0322) if included in billing that overlaps with an inpatient, skilled nursing, or swing bed claim. There is currently an edit that will reject any home health claim if billed with dates of services that fall within the dates of an inpatient stay (not including admission, discharge, or any leave of absence dates). However, since telehealth services are non-payable reporting items, they do not create a duplicate payment.
CMS has been interested in better understanding home health agency use of telehealth, and this adjustment to billing practices will allow home health agencies to continue to use these codes when communicating with the patient and caregiver during an inpatient stay that interrupts the home health period.
Contact: Meg Everett, meverett@leadingageny.org, 518-867-8871