Medicaid and Telemedicine in 2002

September 2003  | Lauderdale D, Lacsamama C, Palsbo S

Telehealth Practice Report, v8(4):14-15, 2003

Introduction
Telemedicine has the potential to reduce Medicaid expenditures and to improve access to care, particularly for beneficiaries who face transportation barriers as a consequence of distance or disability. In 2001, the Medicare, Medicaid and SCHIP Benefits Improvement and Protection Act of 2000 (Public Law No: 106-554) loosened Medicare reimbursement rules. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) also encourages states to incorporate telemedicine in their Medicaid programs (CMS, 2004). We were interested in assessing the extent to which state Medicaid reimbursement was following the lead of federal Medicare reimbursement, and in the amount of individual discretion that Medicaid program directors have in paying for telemedicine services.

This study had two objectives: (1) assess the impact of revised Medicare payment policies for telemedicine on payment policies in state Medicaid programs; and (2) identify geographic restrictions in reimbursable services. We contacted 51 state Medicaid programs via telephone in 2002, of which 35 agreed to participate in the survey. Half of these reimburse for evaluation and management and/or consultation codes, but many of them restrict reimbursement to rural areas. The changes to Medicare provider reimbursement rules in 2002 had little impact on Medicaid reimbursement.

Full report is available here.