NCSL: Telehealth Helps States Reduce Costs, Increase Access, Manage Changing Workforce
Telehealth could “help states leverage a shrinking and maldistributed workforce, increase access to services and lower costs,” reported the National Conference of State Legislatures Wednesday. Nearly all states cover and reimburse telehealth services through Medicaid in some way, and 39…
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plus the District of Columbia have a private payer policy, it said. Key topics for state legislatures include reimbursement, licensure and provider practice standards, NCSL said. Broadband is needed to support telehealth, but many rural areas don’t “currently have access to fast internet connections that allow data to be transmitted effectively and efficiently,” it said. Legislators may want to review reimbursement policies for Medicaid and private payers, considering possible barriers or constraints faced by providers and patients, the group said. Examine workforce or access gaps and consider allowing telehealth providers to practice across state lines, “including reciprocity or joining interstate compacts,” the report suggested. Lawmakers should mull ways to clarify informed consent, patient-provider relationship and standard of care policies, and seek stakeholder input on other potential telehealth policies, it said. The FCC soon plans to consider a $100 million USF telehealth pilot, Commissioner Brendan Carr announced Wednesday (see 1906190019).