Already extended until December 31, 2020, the full reimbursement of teleconsultations could again be postponed. According to the Social Security financing bill for 2021, remote medical consultations will still be reimbursed by Health Insurance in 2021 as well as in 2022.
Teleconsultation has exploded with the Covid-19
With the health crisis linked to the Covid-19 epidemic, teleconsultations have exploded. To get an idea, we counted at least one in four consultations carried out remotely during containment. Health Insurance noted the figures for the first half of 2020: “ the number of reimbursed teleconsultations exploded, going from 40,000 acts in February to 4.5 million last April to stabilize around 1 million acts performed during the summer “.
What the bill says
Setting up at the start of the coronavirus health crisis, the 100% coverage by Health Insurance of teleconsultations (whatever the reason) should be extended for the next two years according to the financing bill of Social Security (PLFSS) for 2021.
In the press kit of the bill, the government explains that such a measure aims to ” facilitate the use of telemedicine, especially in sub-dense areas where access to care can be all the more difficult as there are few doctors “. At the same time, the initiative should also enable health professionals to equip themselves with the tools necessary for remote invoicing and payment of teleconsultations.
How’s it going ?
In practice, you should know that to perform a teleconsultation, you must have already been examined by the doctor at least once physically during the previous twelve months. Also, if the doctor consulted remotely is not your attending physician, he must be a person recommended by the latter.
Finally, Health Insurance recalls that if an attending physician must be consulted beforehand, there is an exception for Covid-19. In other words, if a patient is affected by the virus or likely to be, he can obtain a dispensation in order to consult another doctor by teleconsultation. The exemption is valid if the patient does not have an attending physician or if the latter is not available.
