January 27, 2025
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has not yet released temporary guidance to private Medicare administrators (MACs) for updating payment codes to bill for telehealth services extended through March under the 2024 year-end package. This delay has caused confusion among stakeholders, who fear further delays due to the new administration’s two-week health communication freeze.
CMS has stated that it is only making exceptions for "mission critical" communications, determined on a case-by-case basis. This means the telehealth guidance may not be issued during the freeze if it is not deemed critical enough.
CMS emphasized that this is a short pause to allow the new team to set up a review and prioritization process, with exceptions for mission-critical announcements.
