Today, WIAAP president Dr. Dipesh Navsaria issued a letter to our state Medicaid and private insurance officials on behalf of pediatricians in the state. In brief, he implores the state to consider the special accommodations required to provide quality care to children, including using telehealth/telemedicine as a logical next step.
WIAAP requested that, during this time of crisis, Medicaid, CHIP, and private insurance should:
- Pay for all types of clinically appropriate telehealth care;
- Ensure coverage of telehealth care by the pediatric medical home as well as pediatric medical subspecialists and surgical specialists, and not default to existing telehealth care vendor contracts;
- Allow for the home and other secure locations as originating (patient) and distant (provider) sites;
- Waive cost sharing for families;
- Pay for telehealth care visits at parity with that of in-person visits
- Provide retroactive payment at parity to the beginning off the crisis;
- Provide for a transmission or facility fee;
- Follow CPT billing guidelines and ensure coordination of billing requirements across payers
- Waive any geographic or frequency restrictions that might exist;
- Allow telehealth care for both new and established patients an allow all types of clinically appropriate services (not simply those related to COVID-19) to be provided by telehealth; and
- Allow for good faith use of non-HIPAA compliant end-to-end communication apps/platforms.
AAP Critical Updates on COVID-19 include resources related to telemedicine and coding:
Video: Telehealth and COVID-19, Sue Kressly, MD, FAAP
Coding for Telehealth Services
Implementing After Hours and Telehealth Care
AAP Guidance: Telehealth Payer Policy in Response to COVID-19
