Florida Telehealth Billing for Therapists: 5 Easy Checks
Florida telehealth billing for therapists is the set of state-law and payer rules that decide whether a video or phone session can be billed, by whom, and with which codes. State law says who may deliver telehealth and how payer contracts treat it. Each payer then sets its own claim details.
The legal frame for Florida telehealth billing for therapists
Florida telehealth billing for therapists sits on three layers: state law, payer policy and federal rules for Medicare. Start with state law, then ask each payer for its written policy.
State rules
Section 456.47, Florida Statutes, defines telehealth as using synchronous or asynchronous technology to deliver care, and it excludes email and fax. A telehealth provider must be licensed or certified in Florida, licensed under a multistate compact Florida has joined, or registered as an out-of-state provider. Providers must meet the same standard as in-person care and document telehealth visits the same way. The statute says care is deemed to occur where the patient is located, so confirm the patient’s location at each visit. It also allows Schedule II controlled substances to be prescribed by telehealth for psychiatric disorders, which matters for psychiatrists. The section has no rules on insurance coverage or payment.
Private payers
Payment is covered elsewhere. Section 627.42396 says contracts between health insurers and telehealth providers must be voluntary and must set mutually acceptable rates. If a contract pays telehealth differently from the same in-person service, the telehealth provider must initial that term. The section does not itself require an insurer to cover telehealth, so coverage comes from the plan. Read your contract with our payer contract compliance checks, and watch for underpayments on video visits.
Payers also change codes. As one example, Florida Blue’s December 2025 notice says that from January 1, 2026 it no longer accepts office evaluation and management codes 99202-99215 with modifier 93 or 95 for commercial telemedicine, and it names telemedicine codes 98000-98015 instead. Read each payer’s bulletins before you assume last year’s coding still works.
Medicare and Medicaid
For Florida telehealth billing for therapists with Medicaid patients, start with the state rule. Florida Medicaid’s telemedicine rule, 59G-1.057, covers services delivered with two-way, real-time audio and video. It does not cover telephone calls, email or fax. For fee-for-service claims it calls for modifier GT on the CMS-1500 form. Medicaid managed care plans can add their own instructions, and Sunshine Health’s September 2023 notice says AHCA published a list of community behavioral health services still eligible for telemedicine across Medicaid products.
Medicare telehealth rules are federal and have been extended in short steps. Medical Economics reported on February 10, 2026 that a law signed February 3, 2026 extends key flexibilities through December 31, 2027 and delays the in-person visit requirement for most mental health telehealth until January 1, 2028. Confirm that on the CMS telehealth page before you plan around it.
What goes on the claim
Five details decide most claims in Florida telehealth billing for therapists. The table shows each one and what to confirm. Verify them for each payer with the steps in our guide to patient benefit verification.
| Detail | What to confirm |
|---|---|
| Place of service | CMS defines POS 02 as telehealth other than in the patient’s home and POS 10 as telehealth in the patient’s home; ask which the payer wants |
| Modifier | Ask whether the payer wants 95, GT, 93 or none |
| Codes | Psychotherapy codes and evaluation and management (E/M) visits can follow different rules |
| Audio-only | Ask whether phone-only sessions are covered and how to report them |
| Patient location | Record where the patient was and confirm your license covers it |
CMS publishes the descriptors on its place of service code set page. Reading denials helps too, so use our guide to CARC and RARC codes.
How do you bill telehealth in Florida?
Florida telehealth billing for therapists works like in-person billing with extra claim details. Confirm the plan covers telehealth, bill with the place of service and modifier that payer requires, and document the patient’s location and the technology used. Keep your clean claim rate as the check on whether those details are landing.
What to do Monday morning
- List each payer you bill for telehealth and find its written telehealth policy, the base document for Florida telehealth billing for therapists.
- Write down the place of service, modifier and code rules for video and for audio-only.
- Add the patient’s location and the platform used to your visit note template.
- Check that every clinician is licensed or registered for the patients they see in Florida.
- Psychiatrists: ask each payer which E/M or telemedicine codes it expects with a psychotherapy add-on code.
The short version: Florida telehealth billing for therapists
Florida telehealth billing for therapists depends on three things: state law on who may provide telehealth, each payer’s written policy on codes and modifiers, and good notes on where the patient was. Florida law does not require insurers to cover telehealth, so confirm coverage plan by plan. Use the insurance companies contact directory when you need a payer line.
How MCM South helps
MCM South Medical Billing Service, LLC bills exclusively for mental and behavioral health. We work with psychotherapists and psychiatrists in solo and medium-size practices, and we bill out-of-network claims for clients. If telehealth rules differ across your payers, see what our billing services cover.
Keep going
Related reading
Ready to hand off the billing side? We can talk through your practice.
FAQ
Does Florida law require insurers to cover telehealth?
Not in the statutes we reviewed. Section 456.47 has no coverage rules, and section 627.42396 governs contracts between insurers and telehealth providers. Coverage comes from the plan, so check each payer.
Can an out-of-state therapist see Florida patients by telehealth?
Section 456.47 lets out-of-state providers register with the Florida board or the Department of Health if they meet its conditions. Care is deemed to occur where the patient is, so check licensure before you schedule.
Which place of service code do I use for telehealth?
CMS lists POS 02 for telehealth other than in the patient’s home and POS 10 for telehealth in the patient’s home. Payers may have their own instructions, so confirm which one each payer wants.
Does Florida Medicaid cover phone sessions?
Rule 59G-1.057 covers two-way, real-time audio and video and does not cover telephone calls. Managed care plans may issue their own guidance, so read the plan’s telehealth notice.
Where MCM South works
MCM South Medical Billing Service, LLC works with psychotherapists and psychiatrists in our ten currently served states: Georgia, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Texas, Florida, New York, Colorado, Tennessee, North Carolina and Illinois. We serve solo and medium-size practices that bill mental and behavioral health. Founder Michael Williams has worked with insurance payers in all 50 states. Browse the state and regional billing guides for rules that vary by state, or see our billing services.
This post is operational guidance for billing, not legal advice. Rules change, so confirm with the payer or your counsel.
