99202–99215 Telehealth

Telehealth CPT Codes for OB Visits

The short answer

OB telehealth runs almost entirely on the office and outpatient E/M codes 99202–99215, billed with modifier 95 and place of service 10 or 02. You level them by medical decision making or total time exactly as you would in person. CPT's dedicated telemedicine series 98000–98016 exists, but Medicare and most large payers still price the 99-series, so confirm each payer's stance before switching.

Source: CPT 2026Source: CMS

The codes OB telehealth actually uses

There is no separate universe of “telehealth codes” for most OB work. A virtual visit is the same E/M service delivered over video, so it bills the same code family:

99202–99205 for new patients
99212–99215 for established patients
99242–99245 for consults where the payer still recognizes consult codes (Medicare does not)
99417 for prolonged time on top of 99205 or 99215

What marks the claim as telehealth is the pair around the code: modifier 95 for synchronous audio-video, and the place of service, 10 for a patient at home or 02 elsewhere. See POS 02 vs 10 for why that split changes payment.

Leveling on video: time or MDM

The 2021 E/M framework applies unchanged on video. Pick whichever path documentation supports:

Total time. All of your time on that patient that calendar day: pre-visit chart review, the video itself, ordering, documentation. Time spent troubleshooting the connection does not count. State the total in the note.
MDM. Problems addressed, data reviewed, and risk. A virtual hypertension visit where you review home blood pressure logs, adjust a medication, and weigh delivery timing can support a level 4 on MDM alone.

Video visits skew shorter than office visits, so time-based leveling often undersells them. If the MDM is genuinely moderate, level on MDM.

What changed for 2026

Two things worth a calendar reminder:

The 98000-series. CPT introduced dedicated telemedicine E/M codes, 98000–98007 for audio-video, 98008–98015 for audio-only, and 98016 for a brief virtual check-in. Medicare has continued to pay the 99202–99215 series with modifiers instead, and most national commercial payers followed. A minority of plans have adopted the 98-series. Billing the wrong family for a given payer is a clean-claim rejection, so this belongs on your payer grid.
Post-PHE rules are stable but not static. The days of emergency waivers are over, yet CMS continues to adjust the telehealth code list, audio-only rules, and frequency limits in each Physician Fee Schedule cycle. Treat telehealth billing setup as a quarterly review item, not a one-time configuration.

Common OB telehealth scenarios

Scenario	Bill	Modifier	POS
Routine prenatal check-in, global OB patient	No claim, counts toward the global package visit schedule	n/a	n/a
Hyperemesis problem visit, established patient at home	`99214`	`95`	`10`
New patient preconception counseling by video	`99204`	`95`	`10`
Gestational diabetes management visit, patient at home	`99213`/`99214`	`95`	`10`
MFM video consult, patient at referring clinic	`99244` (payer permitting)	`95`	`02`
Blood pressure follow-up completed audio-only	`99213`	`93`	`10`

The first row is the one that bites OB practices. Routine prenatal visits delivered by video still count toward the global visit count and do not generate a separate claim. The full logic is on billing a virtual prenatal visit, and the audio-only row has its own rules on audio-only billing.

FAQ

What is the CPT code description for telehealth visits? In plain language, there is no single telehealth code: a telehealth visit is billed with the standard office E/M codes 99202–99215, describing a face-to-face evaluation of a new or established patient, with modifier 95 and a telehealth place of service marking it as a video encounter.

Do I level a video visit differently than an office visit? No. Same MDM table, same total-time thresholds. The only telehealth-specific additions are the modifier, the POS code, and a note that the visit was conducted by video with patient consent.

Should I bill 98000-series codes or 99202–99215? Whichever family the specific payer recognizes. As of mid-2026 the 99-series with modifier 95 is the safe default for Medicare and most commercial plans, but verify per payer and recheck quarterly.

Do telehealth prenatal visits count toward the OB global package? Yes. A routine prenatal visit is a routine prenatal visit regardless of modality, and payers expect it inside the global fee. Only problem visits distinct from routine prenatal care bill separately.