The American Telemedicine Association (ATA) applauds the state governments of Kentucky and Missouri for expanding coverage of telemedicine services within their jurisdictions. According to Jonathan Linkous, ATA CEO, “This is a true win-win scenario for the patients in Kentucky and Missouri and a win also for the treasury and taxpayers in those states who will save significantly on public healthcare costs.”
The two states have taken different approaches to expanding access to telemedicine services. Kentucky has incorporated telemedicine into its Medicaid services, while Missouri has passed a state-wide insurance parity mandate for telemedicine.
Kentucky issued final rules expanding coverage of telehealth-provided services for Medicaid beneficiaries. Although providers are still limited to using only interactive video-conferencing to qualify for reimbursement, Medicaid beneficiaries will have access to a broader list of providers and telehealth-provided services. This includes a variety of physical and mental health evaluations, counseling, and remote disease monitoring.
Missouri passed a state-wide parity law (HB 986) for private insurance coverage of telemedicine, making the state the 19th state to do so. Earlier this year, bill, SB 262, was introduced by the National Organization of Black Elected Legislative Women (NOBEL) member and Senator Kiki Curis.
The newly enacted law requires private insurers to reimburse healthcare providers for telehealth-provided services on the same basis as they would for in-person services. The Law also prohibits private insurers from denying coverage of telehealth-provided services.
According to Linkous, “While states and private payers are making big strides forward to improve access to care and reduce costs, CMS is still dragging their feet. The federal government places unnecessarily strict barriers and restraints on how Medicare patients are served when they deserve access to quality healthcare regardless of geographic location and the technology used.”
Linkous reports that ATA is continuing to work to eliminate regulatory barriers to telehealth and to increase state level support of telemedicine.”
Go to www.americantelemed.org/get-involved/public-policy-advocacy/state-telemedicine-policy for more information on state-by-state telemedicine policy.