The HHS Office of Inspector General plans to conduct an audit of Medicaid services delivered via telecommunications systems, the agency announced earlier this month.
Medicaid reimburses for a range of services under the telehealth umbrella, including telemedicine and telemonitoring. "Medicaid programs are seeing a significant increase in claims for these services and expect this trend to continue," the announcement reads.
The audit will consider whether select states' Medicaid payments for telehealth services were allowable under existing reimbursement requirements. For the audit, telecommunications systems will encompass video, audio and data transmission.
The OIG expects to issue its report in 2019.