More and more states are introducing bills establishing or expanding payer coverage for telemedicine services. CMS data provided to the Robert J. Waters Center for Telehealth and eHealth Law indicate Medicare reimbursement for telemedicine services totaled $13.9 million in calendar year 2014.
Those reimbursement dollars can be broken down into approximately $12.48 million for provider fees (location of the telemedicine provider) and $1.45 million for originating sites fees (location of the patient).
Since 2001, Medicare has reimbursed more than $57.6 million for telemedicine coverage, according to the report, a much smaller number than the Congressional Budget Office's 2001 estimate that telemedicine coverage would cost CMS $150 million for five years.
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