New Medicare Rules: In-Person Visits for Costly Equipment and Tests
New regulations aim to reduce Medicare fraud by requiring an in-person doctor's visit before ordering expensive medical equipment or laboratory tests. These changes may affect how patients access certain medical services, especially those ordered remotely.
Key points
If you need high-cost medical equipment (e.g., a wheelchair) or expensive lab tests, your doctor must have seen you in person within the last 6 months before ordering them remotely.
Audits will be conducted for doctors who frequently order equipment or tests via telehealth to ensure compliance with new rules.
Doctors must submit their unique National Provider Identification (NPI) number when billing for separately billable telehealth services, enhancing transparency.
Introduced
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