Last updated 02/10/2023
Consent Requirements
A qualified telemedicine and store-and-forward provider must provide appropriate informed consent in a language that the beneficiary understands (see rule for details).
SOURCE: VT Health Care Administrative Rules 13.174.003 (3.101.5), Telehealth, (Accessed Feb. 2023).
A health care provider delivering health care services or dental services through telemedicine must obtain and document a patient’s oral or written informed consent. See law for special informed consent instructions third-party vendors, emergency situations, a psychiatrist’s examination and a patient receiving by store-and-forward means
SOURCE: VT Statutes Annotated, Title 18 Sec. 9361 (Accessed Feb. 2023).
Audio-Only Telephone
A health care provider delivering health care services by audio-only telephone shall obtain and document a patient’s oral or written informed consent for the use of audio-only telephone prior to the appointment or at the start of the appointment but prior to delivering any billable service.
The informed consent for audio-only telephone services shall be provided in accordance with Vermont and national policies and guidelines on the appropriate use of telephone services within the provider’s profession and shall include, in language that patients can easily understand:
- that the patient is entitled to choose to receive services by audio-
- only telephone, in person, or through telemedicine, to the extent clinically appropriate;
- that receiving services by audio-only telephone does not preclude the patient from receiving services in person or through telemedicine at a later date;
- an explanation of the opportunities and limitations of delivering and receiving health care services using audio-only telephone;
- informing the patient of the presence of any other individual who will be participating in or listening to the patient’s consultation with the provider and obtaining the patient’s permission for the participation or observation;
- whether the services will be billed to the patient’s health insurance plan if delivered by audio-only telephone and what this may mean for the patient’s financial responsibility for co-payments, coinsurance, and deductibles; and
- informing the patient that not all audio-only health care services are covered by all health plans.
For services delivered by audio-only telephone on an ongoing basis, the health care provider shall be required to obtain consent only at the first episode of care.
If the patient provides oral informed consent, the provider shall offer to provide the patient with a written copy of the informed consent.
Notwithstanding any provision of this subsection to the contrary, a health care provider shall not be required to obtain a patient’s informed consent for the use of audio-only telephone services in the case of a medical emergency.
A health care provider may use a single informed consent form to address all telehealth modalities, including telemedicine, store and forward, and audio-only telephone, as long as the form complies with the provisions of section 9361 of this chapter and this section.
SOURCE: 18 Vermont Statute Annotated Ch. 219, Sec. 9362, (Accessed Feb. 2023).
Last updated 02/10/2023
Definitions
“Telemedicine” means the delivery of health care services, including dental services, such as diagnosis, consultation, or treatment through the use of live interactive audio and video over a secure connection that complies with the requirements of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, Pub. L. No. 104-191.
SOURCE: VT Statutes Annotated, Title 8 Sec. 4100k(h)(7), (Accessed Feb. 2023).
“Telehealth” means methods for health care service delivery using telecommunications technologies. Telehealth includes telemedicine, store and forward, and telemonitoring.
“Telemedicine” means health care delivery by a provider who is located at a distant site to a beneficiary at an originating site for purposes of evaluation, diagnosis, consultation, or treatment, using telecommunications technology via two-way, real-time, audio and video interactive communication, through a secure connection that complies with HIPAA.
SOURCE: VT Health Care Administrative Rules 13.174.003 (3.101), Telehealth, (Accessed Feb. 2023).
Telehealth means methods for healthcare service delivery using telecommunications technologies. Telehealth includes telemedicine, store and forward, and telemonitoring. The term telehealth is also often used more generally to describe electronic information and telecommunications technologies to support long-distance clinical healthcare, as well as patient and professional health-related education, public health and health administration.
Telemedicine means health care delivered by a provider who is located at a distant site to a beneficiary at an originating site for purposes of evaluation, diagnosis, consultation, or treatment using telecommunications technology via two-way, real-time, audio and video interactive communication, through a secure connection that complies with HIPAA.
Telemedicine encompasses the following:
- Real-time, audio video communication tools that connect providers and patients in different locations. Tools can include interactive videoconferencing or videoconferencing using mobile health (mHealth) applications (apps) that are used on a computer or hand-held mobile device.
- Store-and-forward technologies that collect images and data to be transmitted and interpreted later, which may also involve the use of mHealth apps.
- Remote patient-monitoring tools such as home blood pressure monitors, Bluetooth-enabled digital scales and other devices that can communicate biometric data for review, which may also involve the use of mHealth apps.
SOURCE: Department of Vermont Health Access. Agency of Human Services. Telehealth: Methods for healthcare service delivery using telecommunications technologies. (Accessed Feb. 2023).
Last updated 02/10/2023
Email, Phone & Fax
Services delivered via audio-only telephone, facsimile, or electronic mail messages are not considered telemedicine and are not covered.
SOURCE: VT Health Care Administrative Rules 13.174.003 (3.101.7), Telehealth, (Accessed Feb. 2023).
Audio-Only Telephone
Subject to the limitations of the license under which the individual is practicing and, for Medicaid patients, to the extent permitted by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, a health care provider may deliver health care services to a patient using audio-only telephone if the patient elects to receive the services in this manner and it is clinically appropriate to do so. A health care provider shall comply with any training requirements imposed by the provider’s licensing board on the appropriate use of audio-only telephone in health care delivery.
A health care provider delivering health care services using audio-only telephone shall include or document in the patient’s medical record:
- The patient’s informed consent for receiving services using audio-only telephone in accordance with subsection (c) of this section; and
- The reason or reasons that the provider determined that it was clinically appropriate to deliver health care services to the patient by audio-only telephone.
A health care provider shall not require a patient to receive health care services by audio-only telephone if the patient does not wish to receive services in this manner.
A health care provider shall deliver care that is timely and complies with contractual requirements and shall not delay care unnecessarily if a patient elects to receive services through an in-person visit or telemedicine instead of by audio-only telephone.
Neither a health care provider nor a patient shall create or cause to be created a recording of a provider’s telephone consultation with a patient.
Audio-only telephone services shall not be used in the following circumstances:
- For the second certification of an emergency examination determining whether an individual is a person in need of treatment pursuant to section 7508 of this title; or
- For a psychiatrist’s examination to determine whether an individual is in need of inpatient hospitalization pursuant to 13 V.S.A. § 4815(g)(3).
SOURCE: VT Statute 18 VSA Sec. 9362, (Accessed Feb. 2023).
On or before July 1, 2021, the Department of Final the Department of Financial Regulation, in consultation with the Department of Vermont Health Access, the Green Mountain Care Board, representatives of health care providers, health insurers, and other interested stakeholders, shall determine the appropriate codes or modifiers, or both, to be used by providers and insurers, including Vermont Medicaid to the extent permitted by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, in the billing of and payment for health care services delivered using audio-only telephone in order to allow for consistent data collection, identify appropriate codes for services that do not have in-person equivalents, and minimize the administrative burden on providers. To the extent possible, the use of codes or modifiers, or both, shall be done in a manner that allows data on the use of audio-only telephone services to be identified using the Vermont Healthcare Claims Uniform Reporting and Evaluation System (VHCURES).
Not later than January 1, 2022, all Vermont-licensed health care providers and health insurers offering major medical health insurance plans in Vermont shall use the codes and modifiers determined by the Department of Financial Regulation pursuant to subdivision (1) of this subsection when delivering services by audio-only telephone. Vermont Medicaid shall participate to the extent permitted by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
The Department of Financial Regulation, in consultation with the Department of Vermont Health Access, the Green Mountain Care Board, representatives of health care providers, health insurers, and other interested stakeholders, shall determine the amounts that health insurance plans shall reimburse health care providers for delivering health care services by audio-only telephone during plan years 2022, 2023, and 2024. In determining the reimbursement amounts, the Department shall seek to find a reasonable balance between the costs to patients and the health care system and reimbursement amounts that do not discourage health care providers from delivering medically necessary, clinically appropriate health care services by audio-only telephone. The Department may determine different reimbursement amounts for different types of services and may modify the rates that will apply in different plan years as appropriate but shall finalize its determinations not later than April 1 for plan years after 2022.
See bill for requirements of Department in 2023 and 2024.
SOURCE: Senate Bill 117 (2021 Session), (Accessed Oct. 2022).
See the Miscellaneous section of the Professional Regulation category for additional requirements.
Last updated 02/10/2023
Live Video
POLICY
Health insurance plans (includes Medicaid) must provide coverage for health care services and dental services delivered through telemedicine by a health care provider at a distant site to a patient at an originating site to the same extent that the plan would cover the services if they were provided through in-person consultation.
A health plan may limit coverage to health care providers in the plan’s network. A health plan cannot impose limitations on the number of telemedicine consultations a covered person may receive that exceed limitations on in-person services. Health plans are not prohibited from limiting coverage to only services that are medically necessary and clinically appropriate for delivery through telemedicine, subject to the terms and conditions of the covered person’s contract.
A health insurance plan shall reimburse for health care services and dental services delivered by store-and-forward means. A health insurance plan shall not impose more than one cost-sharing requirement on a patient for receipt of health care services or dental services delivered by store-and-forward means. If the services would require cost-sharing under the terms of the patient’s health insurance plan, the plan may impose the cost-sharing requirement on the services of the originating site health care provider or of the distant site health care provider, but not both.
SOURCE: VT Statutes Annotated, Title 8 Sec. 4100k (Accessed Feb. 2023).
Covered services must be clinically appropriate for delivery through telemedicine and be medically necessary.
SOURCE: VT Health Care Administrative Rules 13.174.003 (3.101.2), Telehealth, (Accessed Feb. 2023).
Health Care Administrative Rule 3.101 Telehealth can be found on the Agency of Human Services website at: https://humanservices.vermont.gov/rules-policies/health-care-rules. Providers use of telehealth practices are subject to the requirements of administrative rule. Information contained in rule will not be repeated in the provider manuals.
- All providers are required to follow correct coding rules, including application of modifiers, and only bill for services within their scope of practice that can be done via telemedicine.
- All professional claims (CMS-1500 form) with services billed for telemedicine must have POS 02. Modifier GT should not be used on professional services.
- All facility claims (UB-04 form) must include modifier GT on any telemedicine services delivered via interactive audio and/or video.
- Originating facility site providers (patient site) may be reimbursed a facility fee (Q3014)
- Facility fees will not be reimbursed if the provider is employed by the same entity as the originating site.
- GT modifier should not be used on Q301
Dialysis
Revenue code 780, Telemedicine – is reimbursable when billed with the appropriate HCPCS code. Pricing is the current Level II price on for the HCPCS code billed on the claim.
SOURCE: VT Agency of Human Services. General Billing and Forms Manual. Sec. 5.3.52, p. 87 & 96 (Jan. 1, 2023). (Accessed Feb. 2023).
ELIGIBLE SERVICES/SPECIALTIES
Services delivered shall:
- Include any service that a provider would typically provide to a beneficiary in a face-to-face setting,
- Adhere to the same program restrictions, limitations, and coverage that exist for the service when not provided through telemedicine, and
- Be reimbursed at the same rate as the service being provided in a face-to-face setting
SOURCE: VT Health Care Administrative Rules 13.174.003 (3.101.2), Telehealth, (Accessed Feb. 2023).
All providers are required to follow correct coding rules, including application of modifiers, and only bill for services within their scope of practice that can be done via telemedicine. All claims must use POS 02. Modifier GT should not be used on professional services.
SOURCE: VT Agency of Human Services. General Billing and Forms Manual. Sec. 5.3.52, p. 87, (Jan. 1, 2023). (Accessed Feb. 2023).
ELIGIBLE PROVIDERS
A distant site is the location of the health care provider delivering services through telemedicine at the time the services are provided.
SOURCE: VT Statutes Annotated, Title 8 Sec. 4100k.(Accessed Feb. 2023).
Must be provided by a provider who is working within the scope of his or her practice and enrolled in Vermont Medicaid.
SOURCE: VT Health Care Administrative Rules 13.174.003 (3.101.3), Telehealth, (Accessed Feb. 2023).
Dentists
Vermont Medicaid is encouraging Medicaid-participating providers, including dentists, to utilize telemedicine for delivery of medically necessary and clinically appropriate services to Medicaid members when possible.
SOURCE: Department of Vermont Health Access, Dental Supplement, pg. 15, (Jan. 4, 2023), (Accessed Feb. 2023).
ELIGIBLE SITES
An originating site is the location of the patient, whether or not accompanied by a health care provider, at the time services are provided by a health care provider through telemedicine, including a health care provider’s office, a hospital, or a health care facility, or the patient’s home or another nonmedical environment such as a school-based health center, a university-based health center or patient’s workplace.
SOURCE: VT Statutes Annotated, Title 8 Sec. 4100k (Accessed Feb. 2023).
The originating site may include the beneficiary’s home or another nonmedical setting (e.g., school, workplace), a health care provider’s office, a facility, or a hospital.
SOURCE: VT Health Care Administrative Rules 13.174.003 (3.101.1), Telehealth, (Accessed Feb. 2023).
GEOGRAPHIC LIMITS
No Reference Found
FACILITY/TRANSMISSION FEE
Originating facility site providers (patient site) may be reimbursed a facility fee (Q3014). Facility fees will not be reimbursed if the provider is employed by the same entity as the originating site. GT modifier should not be used on Q3014.
SOURCE: VT Agency of Human Services. General Billing and Forms Manual. Sec. 5.3.52, p. 87, (Jan. 17, 2023). (Accessed Feb. 2023).
Substance Use Disorder
In order to facilitate the use of telemedicine in treating substance use disorder, when the originating site is a health care facility, the Department of Vermont Health Access is required to reimburse the health care provider at the distant site and the health care facility at the originating site for services rendered, unless the providers at both the distant and originating sites are employed by the same entity.
SOURCE: VT Statutes Annotated, Title 8 Sec. 4100k 2B(h), (Accessed Feb. 2023).
Last updated 02/10/2023
Miscellaneous
A qualified telemedicine and store-and-forward provider must:
- Meet or exceed federal and state legal requirements of medical and health information privacy, including HIPAA
- Provide appropriate informed consent in a language the beneficiary understands. Specific requirements exist, see rule.
- Take appropriate steps to establish the provider-patient relationship and conduct all appropriate evaluations and history of the beneficiary consistent with traditional standards of care.
- Maintain medical records for all beneficiaries receiving health care services through telemedicine that are consistent with established laws and regulations governing patient health care records.
- Establish an emergency protocol when care indicates that acute or emergency treatment is necessary for the safety of the beneficiary.
- Address needs for continuity of care for beneficiaries (e.g., informing beneficiary or designee how to contact provider or designee and/or providing beneficiary or identified providers timely access to medical records).
- If prescriptions are contemplated, follow traditional standards of care to ensure beneficiary safety in the absence of a traditional physical examination.
Services provided through telehealth are subject to the same prior authorization requirements that exist for the service when not provided through telehealth.
SOURCE: VT Health Care Administrative Rules 13.174.003 (3.101.5-6), Telehealth, (Accessed Feb. 2023).
Last updated 02/10/2023
Out of State Providers
No Reference Found
Last updated 02/10/2023
Overview
Vermont Medicaid reimburses for live video under certain circumstances. Home health monitoring is considered a Medicaid benefit and is available under certain conditions. An administrative rule indicates store-and-forward is reimbursed for teledermatology and teleophthalmology. Additionally, audio-only telephone is also required to be reimbursed under certain circumstances.
Last updated 02/10/2023
Remote Patient Monitoring
POLICY
See Health Care Administrative Rule 3.101 on Telehealth for requirements of telemonitoring.
Home Telemonitoring is a health service that allows and requires scheduled remote monitoring of data related to an individual’s health, and transmission of the data from the individual’s home to a licensed home health agency. Scheduled periodic reporting of the individual’s data to a licensed physician is required, even when there have been no readings outside the parameters established in the physician’s orders. In the event of a measurement outside of the established individual’s parameters, the provider shall use the health care professionals noted above to be responsible for reporting the data to a physician.
SOURCE: VT Agency of Human Services. Home Health Agency, Assistive Community Care and Enhanced Residential Care Supplement. Sec. 1.3.11 Telemonitoring, p. 7 (Jan. 24, 2022), (Accessed Feb. 2023).
“Telemonitoring” means a health service that enables remote monitoring of a beneficiary’s health-related data by a home health agency done outside of a conventional clinical setting and in conjunction with a physician’s plan of care.
VT Medicaid covers telemonitoring for specific conditions when data is reviewed by certain types of licensed professionals (see below requirements).
SOURCE: VT Health Care Administrative Rule 3.101 (Accessed Feb. 2023).
VT Medicaid is required to cover home telemonitoring services performed by home health agencies or other qualified providers for beneficiaries who have serious or chronic medical conditions that can result in frequent or recurrent hospitalizations and emergency room admissions.
“Home telemonitoring service” means a health service that requires scheduled remote monitoring of data related to a patient’s health, in conjunction with a home health plan of care, and access to the data by a home health agency or other qualified provider as defined by the Agency of Human Services.
SOURCE: VT Statutes Annotated Title 33 Sec. 1901g. (Accessed Feb. 2023).
CONDITIONS
The Agency shall provide coverage for home telemonitoring for one or more conditions or risk factors for which it determines, using reliable data, that home telemonitoring services are appropriate and that coverage will be budget-neutral. The Agency may expand coverage to include additional conditions or risk factors identified using evidence-based best practices if the expanded coverage will remain budget-neutral or as funds become available.
SOURCE: VT Statutes Annotated Title 33 Sec. 1901g(a). (Accessed Feb. 2023).
To be covered, services shall be:
- Clinically appropriate for delivery through telemonitoring,
- Medically necessary, and
- Be limited to a Congestive Heart Failure diagnosis.
For telemonitoring services, beneficiaries shall:
- Have Medicaid as their primary insurance or Medicaid and dually enrolled in Medicare with a non-homebound status,
- Have a Congestive Heart Failure diagnosis,
- Be clinically eligible for home health services, and
- Have a physician’s plan of care with an order for home telemonitoring services
SOURCE: VT Health Care Administrative Rules 13.174.003 (3.101.2) & (3.101.4), Telehealth, (Accessed Feb. 2023).
PROVIDER LIMITATIONS
The Agency of Human Services shall provide Medicaid coverage for home telemonitoring services performed by home health agencies or other qualified providers as defined by the Agency of Human Services for Medicaid beneficiaries who have serious or chronic medical conditions that can result in frequent or recurrent hospitalizations and emergency room admissions.
A home health agency or other qualified provider shall ensure that clinical information gathered by the home health agency or other qualified provider while providing home telemonitoring services is shared with the patient’s treating health care professionals. The Agency of Human Services may impose other reasonable requirements on the use of home telemonitoring services.
SOURCE: VT Statutes Annotated Title 33 Sec. 1901g. (Accessed Feb. 2023).
Qualified telemonitoring providers shall:
- Use the following licensed health care professionals to review data:
-
Registered nurse (RN)
-
Nurse Practitioner (NP)
-
Clinical nurse specialist (CNS)
-
Licensed practical nurse (LPN) under the supervision of a RN or physician assistant (PA), and
- Follow data parameters established by a licensed physician’s plan of care, and
- Meet or exceed applicable federal and state legal requirements of medical and health information privacy, including compliance with HIPAA.
SOURCE: VT Health Care Administrative Rules 13.174.003 (3.101.5), Telehealth, (Accessed Feb. 2023).
Home Telemonitoring is a health service that allows and requires scheduled remote monitoring of data related to an individual’s health, and transmission of the data from the individual’s home to a licensed home health agency. Scheduled periodic reporting of the individual’s data to a licensed physician is required, even when there have been no readings outside the parameters established in the physician’s orders. In the event of a measurement outside of the established individual’s parameters, the provider shall use the health care professionals noted above to be responsible for reporting the data to a physician.
SOURCE: VT Agency of Human Services. Home Health Agency, Assistive Community Care and Enhanced Residential Care Supplement. Sec. 1.3.11 Telemonitoring, p. 7 (Jan. 24, 2022). (Accessed Feb. 2023).
OTHER RESTRICTIONS
No Reference Found
Last updated 02/10/2023
Store and Forward
POLICY
“Store and forward” means an asynchronous transmission of a beneficiary’s medical information from a health care professional to a provider at a distant site, through a secure connection that complies with HIPAA, without the beneficiary present in real time.
A qualified telemedicine and store-and-forward provider must:
- Meet or exceed federal and state legal requirements of medical and health information privacy, including HIPAA
- Provide appropriate informed consent in a language the beneficiary understands. Specific requirements exist, see rule.
- Take appropriate steps to establish the provider-patient relationship and conduct all appropriate evaluations and history of the beneficiary consistent with traditional standards of care.
- Maintain medical records for all beneficiaries receiving health care services through telemedicine that are consistent with established laws and regulations governing patient health care records.
- Establish an emergency protocol when care indicates that acute or emergency treatment is necessary for the safety of the beneficiary.
- Address needs for continuity of care for beneficiaries (e.g., informing beneficiary or designee how to contact provider or designee and/or providing beneficiary or identified providers timely access to medical records).
- If prescriptions are contemplated, follow traditional standards of care to ensure beneficiary safety in the absence of a traditional physical examination.
Services provided through telehealth are subject to the same prior authorization requirements that exist for the service when not provided through telehealth.
SOURCE: VT Health Care Administrative Rules 13.174.003 (3.101.1) & (3.101.5-6), Telehealth, (Accessed Feb. 2023).
“Store and forward” means an asynchronous transmission of medical information, such as one or more video clips, audio clips, still images, x-rays, magnetic resonance imaging scans, electrocardiograms, electroencephalograms, or laboratory results, sent over a secure connection that complies with the requirements of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, Pub. L. No. 104-191 to be reviewed at a later date by a health care provider at a distant site who is trained in the relevant specialty. In store and forward, the health care provider at the distant site reviews the medical information without the patient present in real time and communicates a care plan or treatment recommendation back to the patient or referring provider, or both.
A health insurance plan (including Medicaid) shall reimburse for health care services and dental services delivered by store-and-forward means.
A health insurance plan shall not impose more than one cost-sharing requirement on a patient for receipt of health care services or dental services delivered by store-and-forward means. If the services would require cost-sharing under the terms of the patient’s health insurance plan, the plan may impose the cost-sharing requirement on the services of the originating site health care provider or of the distant site health care provider, but not both.
A health insurer shall not construe a patient’s receipt of services delivered through telemedicine or by store-and-forward means as limiting in any way the patient’s ability to receive additional covered in-person services from the same or a different health care provider for diagnosis or treatment of the same condition.
SOURCE: VT Statutes Annotated, Title 8 Sec. 4100k. (Accessed Feb. 2023).
ELIGIBLE SERVICES/SPECIALTIES
DVHA will not reimburse for teleophthalmology or teledermatology by store-and-forward means.*
SOURCE: VT Agency of Human Services. General Billing and Forms Manual. Sec. 5.3.52, p. 86, (Oct. 5, 2022). (Accessed Oct. 2022).
To be covered, services shall:
- Be clinically appropriate for delivery through store-and-forward
- Be medically necessary
- Only be allowed for teledermatology and teleophthalmology.
SOURCE: VT Health Care Administrative Rules 13.174.003 (3.101.2), Telehealth, (Accessed Oct. 2022).
Effective July 1, 2020, Vermont Medicaid announced continued coverage and reimbursement for HCPCS G2010 and new coverage and reimbursement for interprofessional consultations when performed through store and forward technology (i.e., provider to provider store and forward, CPT codes 99451 & 99452). The allowed modifier for CPT codes 99451 & 99452 is modifier GQ (i.e., “through an asynchronous telecommunications system”).”
SOURCE: Department of Vermont Health Access. Agency of Human Services. Telehealth: Methods for healthcare service delivery using telecommunications technologies. (Accessed Mar. 2022).
GEOGRAPHIC LIMITS
No Reference Found
TRANSMISSION FEE
No Reference Found
