More states report telehealth reimbursement laws

Editor's Note

A Foley & Lardner survey finds that state telehealth reimbursement laws have significantly increased during the COVID-10 pandemic, but more can be done to address telehealth adoption barriers, the February 15 Revcycle Intelligence reports.

More than 43 states and Washington, DC, have some telehealth statute for commercial payers, 22 states maintain laws addressing telehealth reimbursement, and only 14 offer true payment parity for telehealth services.

Without adequate reimbursement, providers struggled to purchase the systems necessary for telehealth, but COVID-19 changed that by ensuring adequate reimbursement. The federal government implemented Medicare flexibilities, and states have enacted their own laws to ensure patient access during the pandemic.

However, many of these telehealth reimbursement regulations and laws are slated to expire or narrow in scope when the public health emergency officially ends. Some private payers have already started scaling back telehealth coverage and reimbursement, and some state are now debating ending telehealth payment parity and coverage of audio-only services.