CMS has proposed the following (8) additions to the list of approved procedures delivered via telehealth for 2011.

(1) Individual kidney disease education (KDE) services;

(2) individual diabetes self-management training (DSMT) services;

(3) group KDE, DSMT, MNT, and HBAI services;

(4) initial, subsequent, and discharge day management hospital care services;

(5) initial, subsequent, and other nursing facility care services;

(6) neuropsychological testing services;

(7) speech-language pathology services; and

(8) home wound care services.

CMS is proposing to add the following requested services to the list of Medicare telehealth services for CY 2011:

• Individual and group KDE services (HCPCS codes G0420 and G0421, respectively);

• Individual and group DSMT services, with a minimum of 1 hour of in-person instruction to be furnished in the year following the initial DSMT service to ensure effective injection training (HCPCS codes G0108 and G0109, respectively);

• Group MNT and HBAI services (CPT codes 97804, and 96153 and 96154, respectively);

• Subsequent hospital care services, with the limitation for the patient’s admitting practitioner of one telehealth visit every 3 days (CPT codes 99231, 99232, and 99233); and

• Subsequent nursing facility care services, with the limitation for the patient’s admitting practitioner of one telehealth visit every 30 days (CPT codes 99307, 99308, 99309, and 99310).

Specifically, CMS is proposing to add individual and group KDE services, individual and group DSMT services, group MNT services, group HBAI services, and subsequent hospital care and nursing facility care services to the list of telehealth services for which payment will be made at the applicable PFS payment amount for the service of the practitioner. In addition, we have reordered the listing of services in these two sections and removed ‘‘initial and follow-up inpatient telehealth consultations furnished to beneficiaries in hospitals and SNFs’’ in § 410.78(b) because these are described by the more general term ‘‘professional consultations’’ that is in the same section. Finally, CMS is continuing to specify that the physician visits required under § 483.40(c) may not be furnished as telehealth services.