Medicare Coverage & COVID-19

Medicare Coverage & COVID-19

May 12, 2020

During the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has modified Medicare payment and coverage rules to allow for healthcare providers to offer Diabetes Self-Management Training services to Medicare beneficiaries through telehealth. These services are available over video access, or audio-only methods for beneficiaries who do not have access to internet or other technologies that allow for visual-included interactions. Beneficiaries who have continuous glucose monitors (CGMs), no longer need to meet their physician face to face for CGM, testing supplies and refills in order to maintain coverage. Additionally, CMS will not enforce Medicare’s coverage policy’s clinical indication requirements, including the requirement that beneficiaries must perform SMBG 4 or more times a day. During the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency, the American Diabetes Association continues to work with the administration to ensure individuals with diabetes aren’t faced with gaps in health insurance coverage should they become unemployed, as well as zero dollar copays for insulin, and increased access to COVID-19 testing.