Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 0800-02-31-.05 - BILLING AND REIMBURSEMENT FOR TELEHEALTH SERVICES

(1) Except when a medical fee waiver in accordance with Rule 0800-02-17-.18 is obtained from the bureau, nothing in this Chapter 0800-02-31 shall require an employer to pay a total reimbursement for a telehealth encounter for workers' compensation, including the use of telehealth equipment, in an amount exceeding the amount that would be paid for the same service provided by a healthcare services provider during an in-person encounter under the medical fee schedule set forth in Chapters 0800-02-17, 18, and 19. The medical fee schedule, including but not limited to Tennessee specific conversion percentages, shall apply to the providers of telehealth services rendered pursuant to the workers' compensation law.

(2) Billing for telehealth services shall be by standard HCFA-1500 using modifier -95 and the appropriate place of service code as specified by CMS for the date of service or their successors as used by CMS. The provider shall append modifier -95 to the CPT® code with the place of service code -02 (telehealth) or -11 (office) as specified by CMS for the date of service. All other modifiers should also be added to the CPT® code as applicable.

(3) When a procedure is provided using telemedicine, reimbursement shall be as follows:

The procedure code is reimbursed at the non-facility Medicare maximum allowable payment or the billed charge, whichever is less, regardless of the practitioner's physical location at the time of service.

(4) Coding and billing regulations shall follow the Medicare guidelines in effect for the date of service with no geographic qualifier.

Notes

Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 0800-02-31-.05

New rules filed July 21, 2021; effective 10/19/2021.

Authority: T.C.A. §§ 50-6-204 and 50-6-233.

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