The quarterly updates for the Arkansas, Tennessee, and Mississippi Virtual Visit Billing Guides are now available! This quarter’s update focuses on an important Medicare billing change for Rural Health Clinics (RHCs) and Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) providing distant-site telehealth services.

Beginning October 1, 2026, RHCs and FQHCs will no longer report HCPCS code G2025 for non-behavioral health distant-site telehealth services. Instead, facilities must report the individual CPT or HCPCS code that describes the service provided, along with the appropriate revenue code and telehealth modifier.

The quarterly updates for the Arkansas, Tennessee, and Mississippi Virtual Visit Billing Guides are now available!  These updates reflect key regulatory changes and ongoing efforts to keep providers up to date on virtual care guidelines.

On February 3, 2026, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2026, was passed, extending Medicare telehealth flexibilities through December 31, 2027. This ensures continued access to virtual care for Medicare beneficiaries and reinforces the role of telehealth in modern healthcare delivery, particularly for rural and underserved communities.

The quarterly updates to the Arkansas, Tennessee, and Mississippi Virtual Visit Billing Guides are now available!

The Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act of 2026 (H.R. 5371) extended current telehealth flexibilities, retroactive to October 1, and allows the flexibilities outlined below to remain in effect through January 30, 2026. In addition, CMS released the Calendar Year 2026 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule Final Rule (CMS-1832-F), which includes several important telehealth policy changes summarized below.

The quarterly updates for the Arkansas, Tennessee, and Mississippi Virtual Visit Billing Guides are now available! Payors were fairly quiet this past quarter, but with 2026 on the horizon, we can expect some shifts when CMS releases finalized 2026 telehealth guidance.

CMS has released the Calendar Year (CY) 2026 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (PFS) Proposed Rule (CMS-1832-P), which includes several important telehealth changes detailed below. Remember, this is still a proposed rule, the final version will be published in November, and some details may change.

Medicare Telehealth Coverage & Billing: Post-Expiration

On October 1, 2025, the federal government shut down after Congress failed to pass a FY 2026 spending bill. With that, the Medicare telehealth flexibilities, which had been extended throughout the pandemic, have officially expired. Read more about what this means for healthcare providers below.

View the third quarterly update for 2025 has just been published. Take a look at all the changes for the South Central Region (Arkansas, Mississippi, and Tennessee) as well as our Archive!

Following the wave of 2025 policy changes, most payors have remained relatively quiet this quarter, with few new updates as their telehealth and virtual care policies appear to have stabilized a bit more.

Read more through the link below.

View the second quarterly update for 2025 has just been published. Take a look at all the changes for the South Central Region (Arkansas, Mississippi, and Tennessee) as well as our Archive!

Along with the exciting news that current Medicare telehealth flexibilities were extended through September 30th, 2025 via recently passed legislation, several changes within the Commercial and Medicaid space also occurred this past quarter, as payors continue to evaluate the newly released 2025 telehealth E/M codes.

In the ever-evolving healthcare landscape, telemedicine has emerged as a transformative force, bridging gaps in access to care and revolutionizing the delivery of medical services. At the forefront of this revolution stands the University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMMC), a pioneer in telehealth innovation for over a decade.

In 2017, UMMC’s dedication to excellence in telehealth was formally recognized when it was designated as one of only two federally designated Centers of Excellence in Telehealth (COE).

This prestigious designation by the Health Resources and Services Administration entrusted UMMC with a pivotal role in expanding our research capacity to benefit Mississippi and the United States. The center works to break down the silos and serve as a national clearinghouse for telehealth research, resources, and initiatives.

The COVID-19 pandemic has established telehealth as an essential part of healthcare service delivery. The UMMC Center for Telehealth’s response to the pandemic and vast experience in implementing and scaling a wide diversity of telehealth programs has uniquely positioned us as a national leader in helping grow the field of telehealth in the post-pandemic era.

Mississippi faces great challenges in rurality and healthcare disparities but has successfully leveraged the connections afforded by technology to improve the lives of citizens through telehealth programs.