Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Michigan offers reimbursement to dentists for teledentistry services

As you know, the American Dental Association (ADA) has recommended closing dental offices except for essential and emergency care due to Governor Whitmer’s “Stay Home, Stay Safe” order. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Michigan will offer reimbursement to dentists for teledentistry services on a limited basis during this time. This benefit only applies to members with current dental coverage.

For teledentistry reimbursement:

Use code D0140 as you normally would for a problem-focused exam. Please note, when this code is used during the crisis, it will not be counted in the exam code frequency limit per year.
Chart your clinical notes if you can remotely access your dental software. If not, write notes and transfer them into each patient’s chart when back in your dental office. Upload any videos or photos as soon as you can.
Submit your claims through your normal means (portal, clearinghouses, mail).
If you are unable to submit the claims remotely, file your claims at your earliest convenience when back in your dental office.

We appreciate your continued care of our members and hope this interim policy will help you safely assess these emergency patients.

We will continue to monitor the COVID-19 pandemic and make further announcements about teledentistry services. For more information, refer to the ADA guidelines at ada.org.

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan and Blue Care Network are nonprofit corporations and independent licensees of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association.