The House of Representatives has approved a bill that will allow the Department of Veterans Affairs www.va.gov health professionals to practice telemedicine across state borders and care for more veterans.
The bill H.R. 3123, the “Veterans E-Health and Telemedicine Support (VETS) Act of 2017, www.congress.gov introduced by Representatives Glen “GT” Thompson (R-PA) https://thompson.house.gov and Julia Brownley (D-CA) https://juliabrownley.house.gov allows VA doctors to practice telemedicine across state lines.
Specifically, the bill would:
- Create a VA state licensure exemption to allow VA-credentialed healthcare professionals to work across state borders to perform telemedicine without having to obtain a new license in that state
- Expand the definition of exempt healthcare professionals to include VA doctors
- Remove the location requirement to allow for care regardless of where the healthcare professional or patient is located