CMS recently expanded its list of telehealth services covered during the COVID-19 pandemic to include 24 new audiology and speech-language pathology services.
CMS issued the updated list of codes March 30. The new services include diagnosis and treatment of swallowing problems, therapy for improving cognitive function and assessing speech-generating devices.
Here is the list of the 24 new CPT codes that will be covered when delivered via telehealth through the remainder of the pandemic:
Audiology CPT codes:
1. 92550: Tympanometry and reflex threshold measurements
2. 92552: Pure tone audiometry (threshold); air only
3. 92553: Pure tone audiometry (threshold); air and bone
4. 92555: Speech audiometry threshold
5. 92556: Speech audiometry threshold; with speech recognition
6. 92557: Comprehensive audiometry threshold evaluation and speech recognition
7. 92563: Tone decay test
8. 92565: Stenger test, pure tone
9. 92567: Tympanometry (impedance testing)
10. 92568: Acoustic reflex testing, threshold
11. 92570: Acoustic immittance testing, includes tympanometry (impedance testing), acoustic reflex threshold testing, and acoustic reflex decay testing
12. 92587: Distortion product evoked otoacoustic emissions; limited evaluation (to confirm the presence or absence of hearing disorder, 3-6 frequencies) or transient evoked otoacoustic emissions, with interpretation and report
13. 92625, Assessment of tinnitus (includes pitch, loudness matching, and masking)
14. 92626, Evaluation of auditory function for surgically implanted device(s) candidacy or postoperative status of a surgically implanted device(s); first hour
15. 92627, Evaluation of auditory function for surgically implanted device(s) candidacy or postoperative status of a surgically implanted device(s); each additional 15 minutes.
Speech-language pathology CPT codes:
16. 92526: Treatment of swallowing dysfunction and/or oral function for feeding
17. 92607: Evaluation for prescription for speech-generating augmentative and alternative communication device, face-to-face with the patient; first hour
18. 92608: Evaluation for prescription for speech-generating augmentative and alternative communication device, face-to-face with the patient; each additional 30 minutes
19. 92609: Therapeutic services for the use of speech-generating device, including programming and modification
20. 92610: Evaluation of oral and pharyngeal swallowing function
21. 96105: Assessment of aphasia (includes assessment of expressive and receptive speech and language function, language comprehension, speech production ability, reading, spelling, writing, e.g., by Boston Diagnostic Aphasia Examination) with interpretation and report, per hour
22. 96125: Standardized cognitive performance testing (e.g., Ross Information Processing Assessment) per hour of a qualified health care professional's time, both face-to-face time administering tests to the patient and time interpreting these test results and preparing the report
23. 97129: Therapeutic interventions that focus on cognitive function (e.g., attention, memory, reasoning, executive function, problem solving, and/or pragmatic functioning) and compensatory strategies to manage the performance of an activity (e.g., managing time or schedules, initiating, organizing, and sequencing tasks), direct (one-on-one) patient contact; initial 15 minutes
24. 97130: Therapeutic interventions that focus on cognitive function (e.g., attention, memory, reasoning, executive function, problem solving, and/or pragmatic functioning) and compensatory strategies to manage the performance of an activity (e.g., managing time or schedules, initiating, organizing, and sequencing tasks), direct (one-on-one) patient contact; each additional 15 minutes (List separately in addition to code for primary procedure).