Recently announced changes to Medicare telebehavioral health coverage will impact the entire industry whether providers contract with the program or not.

The move from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) marks an acceleration of telehealth on top of staking out a point-of-no-return for the industry’s progression toward digital adoption.

CMS announced at the beginning of November that it would allow Medicare beneficiaries to originate telehealth visits for mental health services in their homes — with the home being loosely and inclusively defined — regardless of where they live. Also, Medicare will allow providers to use audio-only visits when a patient declines to conduct a video chat.

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