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Ehi Borha is an associate in the Corporate Practice Group in the firm's New York office and a member of the firm's Healthcare Team.

Utah Bill Uses Telehealth to Address Mental Health

On March 2, 2021, Utah Governor, Spencer Cox, signed Senate Bill 41 (“SB41”) into law. The bill, sponsored by State Senator Luz Escamilla, allows coverage for mental health services delivered by telehealth – often referred to as “telemental health” services.  While we have seen many states move to create greater access to telehealth services in efforts to address the current public health crisis (the “Pandemic”), Utah is one of the first states to expand telehealth coverage to address the mental well-being of its citizens.  In a statement to State of Reform, Sen. Escamilla noted that “mental health is becoming a big crisis and in our state we’re seeing an increase in needs, and access has become very limited.”
Continue Reading The “State” of Telehealth: Utah

West Virginia Bill Seeks to Regulate Parity and Out-of-State Providers

On February 10, 2021, members of the West Virginia Legislature introduced Senate Bill 1 (“SB1”) which seeks to regulate the use of telemedicine in the state. If passed, the proposed bill would require the Public Employees Insurance Agency, Medicaid and specified insurance plans to cover telehealth services at the same rate as in-person healthcare, starting July 1, 2021. The bill would also permit healthcare providers who are licensed in other states to provide telehealth services in West Virginia.
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Washington State Seeks to Make Audio-Only Telehealth Permanent

On February 5, 2021, Washington State Rep. Marcus Riccelli introduced House Bill 1196 (“HB-1196”) which seeks to set specific guidelines for use and coverage of audio-only telehealth platforms, such as the phone. HB-1196 would mandate coverage for audio-only telehealth beyond the public health emergency (the “Pandemic”) as long as the service met certain requirements. The bill was passed almost unanimously by the House on February 24, 2021 and is now before the state Senate.
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Oregon Telehealth Bill Proposes Parity for Telehealth Services

On January 11, 2021, Oregon Senator Lee Beyer and Rep. Rachel Prusak, introduced Senate Bill 11 (“SB11”)[1], which would permanently extend parity for telehealth services with in-clinic care services. Parity for telehealth services was originally proposed in response to Governor Kate Brown’s March 23, 2020 Executive Order 20-22 which ordered a temporary halt on nonurgent procedures to preserve personal protective gear for frontline workers. Telehealth services provided clinical providers with an opportunity to maintain revenue by allowing individuals to seek care from the safety of their own homes. In line with the move to telehealth services, emergency payment policies enacted by the Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services and payers’ voluntary agreement allowed providers to receive the same rates for telemedicine services as they would for in-clinic services.
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Texas Governor Wants to Make Permanent Changes to Telemedicine Access

As part of his 2021 of the State address, Texas Governor, Greg Abbott, introduced his intention to permanently expand telemedicine services that were made available during the COVID-19 public health emergency (the “Pandemic”).
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New Hampshire Seeks to End Telehealth Parity and Audio-Only Phone Coverage

On January 13, 2021, New Hampshire lawmakers, Jess Edwards, Jason Osborne and John Hunt, introduced House Bill 602, which seeks to roll back certain provisions of the July 21, 2020 telehealth bill (“House Bill 1623”) signed into law by Governor Chris Sununu, during the height of the COVID-19 public health emergency (the “Pandemic”). House Bill 1623, amended the state’s definition of telemedicine to include new modalities, including audio-only phones, and requires Medicaid and private payers to reimburse for telehealth services on the same basis that it reimburses for in-person care. In sharp contrast, the newly proposed House Bill 602 would revise the state’s telehealth rules to eliminate payment parity and coverage for audio-only services.
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Permanency for Out of State Telehealth Services? Arizona Seeks to Make Permanent Changes to Licensure Requirements

On January 11, 2021, Arizona Governor Doug Ducey delivered the “State of the State” address in which he outlined his vision for 2021, focusing on the State’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic (the “Pandemic”), the distribution of the vaccine, and other COVID-19 related and unrelated priorities.  Governor Ducey’s priorities are summarized in the Governor’s 2021 Arizona Resilient Policy Book (“2021 Policy Book”).
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In our December 7, 2020 Blog Post, “Permanent Expansion of Medicare Telehealth Services,” we discussed the 2021 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule Final Rule (the “Final Rule”) and the regulatory changes made therein by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (“CMS”) to expand Medicare telehealth coverage within the confines of existing Medicare statutory law.  The Final Rule was first posted on December 2, 2020 and was formally published in the Federal Register on December 28, 2020.
Continue Reading The Permanency for Audio-Only Telehealth Act: A Matter of Healthcare Equity?

On December 1, 2020, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (“CMS”) released the annual Physician Fee Schedule final rule (“Final Rule”) which, among other things, aimed to further President Trump’s October 3, 2019 Executive Order #13890 on “Protecting and Improving Medicare for Our Nation’s Seniors” (the “EO”) by expanding the use of proven alternatives like telehealth services to Medicare beneficiaries even after the conclusion of the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency (the “Pandemic”).
Continue Reading Permanent Expansion of Medicare Telehealth Services