• Click here to view today's updates from the CDC and DPH.

• Attached is an excel sheet with telemedicine billing codes and coverage guideline.  We are still awaiting Cigna and ConnectiCare information. We will send you updated information as soon as we receive it. You will notice considerable variation in coding protocols. We are trying to work towards more uniform criteria.
• We are publishing a modified a guideline for triage and testing for adult patients. the major changes are the removal of travel screening from the protocol and the addition of guidance for testing. Our pediatric guidelines are here. These do not include testing guidelines, as they were written before testing was widely available. There is a webinar tomorrow sponsored by YNHCH and I have asked for that topic to be addressed.

• YNHH began drive-up testing today. See the attached letter for details. Hartford Hospital has begun testing today and Wednesday at St Vincent's. See here for a description of Hartford Healthcare's sites and protocol.

• DOCS Medical Group has gone live with a telemedicine platform. They also have COVID-19 Testing capability. Click here for more information.

• Today, The Trump Administration announced expanded Medicare telehealth coverage that will enable beneficiaries to receive a broader range of healthcare services from their doctors without having to travel to a healthcare facility. Beginning on March 6, 2020, Medicare will temporarily pay clinicians to provide telehealth services for beneficiaries residing across the entire country.
• To read the Fact Sheet on this announcement, click here.
• To read the Frequently Asked Questions on this announcement, click here.

• For additional information on the list of Medicare telehealth services eligible for reimbursement, please see CCHP’s Fact Sheet on the Finalized CY 2020 Physician Fee Schedule and publication issued by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) regarding Medicare coverage and payment related to COVID-19.

• CMS has developed two Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System (HCPCS) codes that can be used by laboratories to bill for specific COVID-19 diagnostic tests to help increase testing and track new cases. Effective for dates of service March 18, 2020, and forward, laboratory providers must use one of the HCPCS codes listed in the bulletin (DSS PB 2020-12) for the billing of COVID-19 diagnostic tests. Reimbursement for the tests will be set at the Medicare rate, and the Laboratory fee schedule will be updated accordingly.

• Please see the Bulletins (2020-09 and 2020-10) that were recently issued by DSS concerning New Coverage of Specified Telemedicine Services Under the Connecticut Medical Assistance Program, and COVID-19 Response on Emergency Temporary Telemedicine Coverage.

• The Connecticut Insurance Department recently issued Bulletin No. IC-39 to all health insurance companies and health care centers authorized to conduct business in Connecticut regarding COVID-19 outbreak and testing.

• HEALTH INSURANCE PORTABILITY AND ACCOUNTABILITY ACT (HIPAA): Effective immediately, the HHS Office for Civil Rights (OCR) will exercise enforcement discretion and waive penalties for HIPAA violations against health care providers that serve patients in good faith through everyday communications technologies, such as FaceTime or Skype, during the COVID-19 nationwide public health emergency. For more information click here.