Remote patient monitoring (RPM) remains payable under Medicare in 2027. The final Physician Fee Schedule adds an initiating visit for new starts and gives practices two more years to prepare for a change to clinical staffing requirements. For practices working with TeleCARE, that means we can continue supporting your patients under the current staffing model through 2028.
Starting January 1, 2027, Medicare requires a separately reportable initiating visit when RPM begins with the billing provider. The practitioner must discuss monitoring with the patient during the visit, which can take place in person or via telehealth when Medicare’s telehealth requirements are met. The requirement applies at the start of services with that provider, so practices should distinguish new starts from ongoing monitoring when reviewing their patient lists.
TeleCARE is preparing sample note language, EHR prompts, and a workflow your team can use to document the visit and coordinate enrollment.
CMS delayed the direct employment requirement for clinical staff furnishing RPM and remote therapeutic monitoring (RTM) until January 1, 2029. Practices can continue working with TeleCARE through 2028 under applicable Medicare supervision and billing requirements.
After 42 years of working with Medicare rules, Don Self sees the delay as a sign that CMS may still be willing to revisit the policy. In his view, there’s a real possibility the requirement could change before it takes effect. We’ll keep you updated on any developments and what they mean for your practice.
Medicare will continue to reimburse RPM treatment management in 2027 when billing requirements are met. CMS has published the final rule and its supporting addenda, which update how remote monitoring services are valued. We’ll share a separate reimbursement update once the 2027 payment amounts are available by CPT code and Medicare locality.
Your practice can offer remote patient monitoring (RPM), Chronic Care Management (CCM), or both, depending on each patient’s needs. For patients who qualify for both, we recommend pairing them when home readings can inform an ongoing care plan. RPM helps your team see what’s changing between visits. CCM gives your team a way to find out why, address barriers, and follow up.
Take a patient with hypertension and diabetes whose home blood pressure readings are trending up. RPM helps the team spot that pattern between appointments. A CCM check-in might reveal that the patient ran out of medication and has trouble getting to the pharmacy. The care team can flag the trend to the prescribing clinician, help coordinate the refill, and use subsequent readings to see how the patient is doing. That follow-through is where the two services work especially well together.
Meet with a TeleCARE account representative to review eligible patients and plan your next enrollments.
This article is for informational purposes. Confirm current Medicare and payer-specific requirements with your billing or compliance team before submitting claims.
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