21.6.09

Why We Need DRG/CPT/ICD Codes that Pay for eHealth/mHealth 'Transactions'

"The following services are excluded from coverage regardless of clinical indications:...telephone consultations, e-mail & internet consultations, telemedicine...."
via email message

@susanlindsey's hospital just switched to Cigna coverage for health insurance (she's a nurse).

She was reading through the 'manual' (a nice term for a hopelessly complex and awful to navigate 'book' describing your benefits in detail) each employee gets when she noticed the following...

Not only does Cigna NOT pay any docs to email, Skype, IM, or 'American Well' their patients, they've written a specific exclusionary policy prohibiting these eHealth and mHealth services from the coverage umbrella.

@susanlindsey sent me the information above quoted directly from the manual.

Does anyone know of an insurer that DOES cover these services if they're funneled through an external partner? I know Kaiser does a great job of this with their integrated EHR...

Reminds me just how much work there still is to do...

Posted via web from Jen's Posterous

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