Medicare Reimbursed Nearly $14M for Telemedicine Last Year

In 2014, Medicare telemedicine reimbursement totaled $13.9 million, a number that has steadily increased since 2008, according to the Robert J. Waters Center for Telehealth and eHealth Law (CTeL).

CTeL says it obtained information from CMS, which revealed that the $13.9 million figure reflects payments of $12,482,270 for provider fees at the distant site (the location of the telemedicine provider) and $1,452,160 for originating site fees (the location of the patient).

Since 2001, CMS’s Medicare reimbursement for distant site services totals $51 million and $6.5 million for originating site fees, for a total of $57.6 million over 14 years, according to CTeL. In 2001, the Congressional Budget Office estimated it would cost CMS $150 million during the first 5 years to reimburse for telehealth encounters.

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