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Deferred exam during Covid-19

E

eeubanks21

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Sedalia, MO
Hi, I have a provider that is trying to tell me he is allowed to defer the exam on a new patient due to Covid-19. I told him that all three elements are required. Am I allowed to bill for an established patient if the exam is deferred on a new patient?
 
CMS issued guidance that during the COVID-19 emergency, for telehealth E/M services, providers may use the new 2021 proposed rules that allow the code choice to be based on either time or MDM, so an exam would not be required. But they specifically have stated that this applies to telehealth only. The coding guidelines for in-person services have not changed, to my knowledge, so three out of three elements must meet or exceed the level coded, unless the documentation supports billing based on time under the existing guidelines.

There has been never been any guidance that I'm aware of that states it is acceptable to bill a new patient as established.
 
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