CMS adds new codes to Telehealth list for remainder of public health emergency

On March 30, 2021, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) made additions to the list of CPT® codes that can be used to bill Medicare for telehealth services for the remainder of the public health emergency (PHE). The codes include several codes used by occupational therapy practitioners.

This change will allow practitioners the opportunity to provide telehealth for those clients with swallowing and cognition needs who still cannot come into the office. The added codes are:

92526
Treatment of swallowing dysfunction and/or oral function for feeding

92610
Evaluation of oral and pharyngeal swallowing function

96125
Standardized cognitive performance testing (e.g., Ross Information Processing Assessment) per hour of a qualified health care professional's time, both face-to-face time administering tests to the patient and time interpreting these test results and preparing the report

97129
Therapeutic interventions that focus on cognitive function (e.g., attention, memory, reasoning, executive function, problem solving, and/or pragmatic functioning) and compensatory strategies to manage the performance of an activity (e.g., managing time or schedules; initiating, organizing, and sequencing tasks), direct (one-on-one) patient contact; initial 15 minutes

97130
Therapeutic interventions that focus on cognitive function (e.g., attention, memory, reasoning, executive function, problem solving, and/or pragmatic functioning) and compensatory strategies to manage the performance of an activity (e.g., managing time or schedules, initiating, organizing, and sequencing tasks), direct (one-on-one) patient contact; each additional 15 minutes (List separately in addition to code for primary procedure.)

The complete list of telehealth codes allowed by CMS is available on the CMS website.