The Texas Department of Insurance, Division of Workers’ Compensation (DWC) has adopted a new emergency rule relating to telemedicine and telehealth for physical medicine and rehabilitation services.
New 28 Texas Administrative Code §167.1 was adopted on an emergency basis became effective April 13, 2020.
The DWC said the emergency adoption is necessary to ensure enhanced access to telemedicine and telehealth services in response to the COVID-19 disaster declaration.
This emergency rule builds on the existing telemedicine and telehealth rules by creating an exception to current CMS distant site practitioner requirements.
This rule allows health care providers licensed to perform physical medicine and rehabilitation services, including physical therapists, occupational therapists, and speech pathologists to bill and be reimbursed for services currently allowed under CMS telemedicine and telehealth billing codes.
Health care providers must bill for telemedicine or telehealth services using the same billing, coding, reporting, and documentation requirements used for inperson services and include a place of service code “02 – telehealth” on the bill.
Services will be reimbursed at DWC’s fee schedule rate or network contracted rate, whether provided in person or through telemedicine or telehealth.
An originating site facility fee is not eligible for reimbursement.
The adopted rule will be published in the April 24, 2020, issue of the Texas Register and will be available at www.sos.state.tx.us/texreg/index.shtml once published. The rule also will be posted on the TDI website.
Source: TDI-DWC
Topics Texas
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