Many Americans’ routines have changed due to the pandemic, and the same is true for our Practice. For the safety of our patients and staff, and to abide with the shelter in place order, we began providing our patients the option of virtual visits back in March. Virtual visits, also known as Telehealth, Telemedicine, or e-visits, allow for our patients and their Providers to conduct a dermatology visit or cosmetic consult via a synchronous connection. This means that a two-way, real time video and audio are utilized to conduct a secure, HIPAA compliant visit.
As pandemic precautions continue, most insurance carriers have made exceptions to allow virtual Telehealth medical visits through a specified deadline. This deadline has been subject to change. Additionally, some insurance carriers have waived cost-share for certain policies. Cost-Share is patient responsibility such as Co-Payment, Co-Insurance and Deductibles.
As Illinois transitioned into Phrase 4, we began to cautiously and safely reopen to see patients in-office. We have restricted this to visits that cannot be seen via Telehealth. These visits include but are not limited to Body Screenings, Lesions of Concern, Procedures and Surgeries. For the continued safety of our patients and staff, we have continued to see a majority of our patients through virtual Telehealth appointments. Your insurance will be confirmed prior to your Telehealth appointment to verify your coverage and benefits. This verification is not guaranteed, but we will make our best attempt to verify that you have Telehealth coverage on your insurance policy. We will also confirm your benefits to help determine if your policy has opted into waiving cost-share, or if you will be responsible for any out-of-pocket expenses.
As of right now, these major commercial carriers have expanded their Telehealth benefits to the deadline listed above. If there is a cost-share waiver, those deadlines and details are also listed. Please note, you should contact your HR department or your insurance carrier directly to verify your coverage and benefits. If you have any questions, our Billing Department will always be happy to help. Feel free to contact them at 312-245-9965 option 5.
