Welter Healthcare Partners is sharing updated information regarding Colorado COVID Telehealth and coding. Read below to find out more about these new CPT codes and new deadlines for Telehealth and benefits.nnClick here for the most recent COVID-19 updates from the Colorado payers. As you can see, most of the commercial payers have extended the deadlines for Telehealth and other expanded benefits through December 31st, 2020. These deadlines are still subject to change and our team will continue to monitor the market for these updates. This update serves as the highlights for each of the payers to keep your team up to date with the notes. The links for the full updates are included on Page 3 for your reference.nnIn addition to these changes with the commercial payers, there are some new CPT codes that have been released in response to the PHE, 99702, and 86413. For quick reference, the long descriptors for these codes are:n
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- 99072 – Additional supplies, materials, and clinical staff time over and above those usually included in an office visit or other non-facility service(s), when performed during a Public Health Emergency as defined by law, due to respiratory-transmitted infectious disease
- 86413 – Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) (Coronavirus disease [COVID-19]) antibody, quantitative
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nThe above codes went into effect on 9/8/2020 and it is clear in the CPT assistant information that it is for use once a PHE is declared. Colorado’s PHE was declared 3/13/2020, so it meets that description. While these new codes have been released, effective immediately, we have yet to see the payers adopt these codes and outline expected reimbursement. We suspect it will be based on the calculation of supplies (like 99070) but CMS is currently silent on this topic. You can find additional information included in the link below from AMA with the release notes for these new codes. Our team will continue to monitor the coming changes with these codes to update you accordingly.nn