CMS WatchSeptember 3, 2026·3 min read

Hospice G0679: report telehealth F2F recertification on claims from January 1, 2027

CMS Transmittal 13944 / CR 14495 tells hospices to report face-to-face recertification encounters done via telecommunications technology with HCPCS G0679. Effective January 1, 2027. Implementation January 4, 2027. Wrong TOB or revenue code returns the claim.

hospiceG0679telehealthCR 14495CMS Watch

By the HCC Buddy Coding Team

Published September 3, 2026

A hospice claims worksheet marks HCPCS G0679 for a telehealth face-to-face recertification encounter under revenue code 0657, January 2027. — CR 14495 / Transmittal 13944 adds G0679 for hospice telehealth F2F recertification reporting. Effective January 1, 2027. Implementation January 4, 2027. — Illustration: HCC Buddy

Key Takeaways

→CR 14495 / Transmittal 13944, dated September 2, 2026, tells hospices to report face-to-face recertification encounters conducted via telecommunications technology on hospice claims with HCPCS G0679. Effective January 1, 2027. Implementation January 4, 2027.
→CMS prints the G0679 descriptor as a hospice face-to-face encounter by a hospice physician or hospice nurse practitioner for recertification via telecommunications technology, and notes the telehealth encounter is considered an administrative expense.
→Contractors shall allow G0679 on dates of service on or after January 1, 2027. Claims with G0679 return to the provider if the Type of Bill is not 81x or 82x, or if the revenue code is not 0657.
→Transmittal 13944 rescinds and replaces Transmittal 13860 (July 10, 2026) only to delete business requirement 14495.4. All other information remains the same.
→Impacted contractors are A/B MAC Part HHH. MM14495 is posted on the R13944CP downloads page. The live MM still cites Transmittal R13860CP (July 10, 2026) and still lists a third RTP that Transmittal 13944 deleted as BR 14495.4.

CMS issued Change Request 14495 on September 2, 2026, as Transmittal 13944 (Pub 100-04 Medicare Claims Processing). The subject is reporting a face-to-face encounter conducted by a hospice physician or hospice nurse practitioner for recertification via telecommunications technology on hospice claims, effective January 1, 2027.

EFFECTIVE DATE: January 1, 2027 (date of service unless otherwise specified). IMPLEMENTATION DATE: January 4, 2027. Impacted contractors are A/B MAC Part HHH.

Milestone	Date as printed
Transmittal / CR date	September 2, 2026
Effective (date of service)	January 1, 2027
Systems implementation	January 4, 2027

This is a hospice claim-reporting CR. It is not a CMS-HCC or V28 map, and it is not a rewrite of the live Villages Health FCA settlement piece.

What G0679 is for

The CR cites section 1814(a)(7)(D)(i)(II) of the Social Security Act as background for requiring a modifier or code when a face-to-face encounter is furnished through a telehealth virtual platform. The operational instruction for hospices is simpler than that statutory sentence.

Effective January 1, 2027, hospices shall report face-to-face encounters conducted by a hospice physician or hospice nurse practitioner for recertification via telecommunications technology on hospice claims. Hospices shall submit that telecommunications use via G0679.

CMS prints this exact descriptor: Hospice face-to-face encounter conducted by a hospice physician or hospice nurse practitioner for recertification via telecommunications technology (this telehealth encounter is considered an administrative expense).

Confirm the short descriptor in the encoder or code book when your file loads. Do not invent a second G-code for this path. The CR names G0679 only.

How to report it on the claim

The CR updates Pub 100-04 Chapter 11, section 30.3 (Data Required on the Institutional Claim to A/B MAC (HHH)). The manual instruction adds a Telehealth Service Reporting subsection with the same G0679 rule.

Hospices shall report the encounter via telecommunications technology in line-item detail. Each service must be reported as a separately dated line under the appropriate revenue code for each discipline furnishing the service.

The business requirements tie G0679 to revenue code 0657. If G0679 shows with any other revenue code, the contractor returns the claim to the provider. Do not invent a national fee, unit rule, or extra modifier for this G0679 path beyond what CR 14495 prints.

Business requirements that will RTP the claim

BR	What the contractor shall do
14495.1	Allow HCPCS G0679 on claims with dates of service on or after January 1, 2027.
14495.2	Return to the provider claims containing G0679 if the Type of Bill (TOB) is other than 81x or 82x.
14495.3	Return to the provider claims containing G0679 if reported with revenue codes other than 0657.
14495.4	Deleted.

Those TOB and revenue-code edits are the desk risk. Wrong bill type or wrong revenue code is not a soft warning in this CR. It is return-to-provider.

What changed from Transmittal 13860

Transmittal 13860 issued July 10, 2026, is rescinded and replaced by Transmittal 13944, dated September 2, 2026, to delete business requirement 14495.4. CMS says all other information remains the same.

Use R13944 / CR 14495 as the current instruction. Do not keep a deleted BR in your edit checklist.

MM14495 is posted, and one RTP in it is stale

MM14495 is linked from the R13944CP transmittal page as MLN Matters Article MM14495. The short path `mm14495.pdf` still 404s. The live file uses the hyphenated downloads name and CMS serves it as `mm14495.pdf`.

The MM PDF still prints Transmittal Number R13860CP, Release Date July 10, 2026, and Document History "July 10, 2026 Initial article released." The transmittal page shows Provider Education Revised Date 2026-09-02, but the MM body was not revised to match Transmittal 13944.

The live MM still lists a third return-to-provider rule: the MAC returns G0679 claims if you bill only revenue code 0657 and list no other services on the claim. Transmittal 13944 deleted that as business requirement 14495.4. Do not keep that third bullet as current instruction.

Current claim edits are R13944 / CR 14495 only: allow G0679 on dates of service on or after January 1, 2027; return the claim if Type of Bill is not 81x or 82x; return the claim if the revenue code is not 0657.

What this is not

It is not a CMS-HCC, RAF, or V28 change. G0679 here is hospice claim reporting for a telehealth face-to-face recertification encounter. If the question is risk adjustment, stay in the model year you are actually coding.

It is not the live ColoSense / NCD 210.3 story, and it does not invent fees, units, or modifiers beyond what CR 14495 prints for this G0679 path.

What coders should do now

1Add G0679 to your January 2027 hospice claim checklist with revenue code 0657 and TOB 81x/82x only. Flag any other revenue code or bill type as RTP risk.
2Replace any desk note that still cites Transmittal 13860 with Transmittal 13944 / CR 14495, and remove deleted BR 14495.4 from your edit list.
3Confirm the official G0679 descriptor in the [encoder](/encoder) after your HCPCS file loads. Do not invent a second telehealth G-code for this recert path.
4Open MM14495 from the R13944CP downloads page, then drop the third RTP bullet (G0679 billed alone on revenue 0657). Transmittal 13944 deleted that as BR 14495.4.

Frequently Asked Questions

What HCPCS code reports a hospice telehealth F2F recertification encounter?

Effective January 1, 2027, CR 14495 / Transmittal 13944 says hospices shall report face-to-face recertification encounters conducted via telecommunications technology on hospice claims via G0679. CMS prints that the telehealth encounter is considered an administrative expense.

Which Type of Bill and revenue code work with G0679?

Contractors shall return claims containing G0679 if the Type of Bill is other than 81x or 82x, or if G0679 is reported with a revenue code other than 0657. BR 14495.2 and BR 14495.3 are those return-to-provider rules.

Why did CMS issue Transmittal 13944 after Transmittal 13860?

Transmittal 13944, dated September 2, 2026, rescinds and replaces Transmittal 13860 (July 10, 2026) to delete business requirement 14495.4. CMS says all other information remains the same.

Is there an MLN Matters article for CR 14495 yet?

Yes. MM14495 is posted on the R13944CP downloads page (hyphenated filename; the short mm14495.pdf path 404s). The live MM still cites Transmittal R13860CP from July 10, 2026 and still lists a third RTP that R13944 deleted as BR 14495.4. Current instruction is Transmittal 13944 / CR 14495.