The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the status quo in healthcare. As we recover, lawmakers now have an opportunity to learn from our mistakes and triumphs to chart a new course. Among the most notable changes in care delivery brought about by the pandemic is the rise of telehealth. Yet as we update this report to reflect actions taken in 2022, it is hard not to notice that states have shown a surprising lack of urgency in making comprehensive updates to their telehealth laws.

While telehealth services were available long before the pandemic, millions of Americans used telehealth for the first time over the past three years. The rapid adoption of telehealth technology was enabled by emergency regulatory reforms undertaken at the federal and state levels. For example, federal officials made select changes to the Medicare program, and governors in nearly all 50 states advanced access with flexible provider licensure for new telehealth uses by executive order.

However, most of the emergency actions taken early on in the pandemic were only temporary. When state public health emergency declarations ended, and executive orders were withdrawn, many of the new flexibilities were lost. While some states recognized the benefits of regulatory flexibility and have adopted permanent reforms, a surprising number have only made minor tweaks to their laws, and most only benefit one kind of service or provider.

States must continue to refocus their efforts to ensure clear laws and guidelines are in place for innovation to emerge so that patients and providers can benefit from this helpful tool in any care delivery toolbox. Immediate action will be needed to avoid disrupting patient access to providers they gained during COVID, as other options may not exist in their community. For many patients, cutting off remote access to care is the difference between them receiving care in this manner versus no care at all.

There are four key areas where states have an opportunity to unleash innovation and embrace the potential of telehealth for expanding patient access to high-quality care:

1. Patients Can Access all Forms of Telehealth: State laws and regulations should define telehealth in broad terms that do not favor one mode of telehealth over others or preclude future innovation in care delivery. This is called modality neutrality.
2. Patients Can Start a Telehealth Relationship by Any Mode: State laws and regulations should not prohibit patients from initiating a relationship with a telehealth provider via their preferred modality.
3. Patients Face No Barriers to Across-State Line Telehealth: State laws and regulations should not prevent patients from accessing virtual care from providers licensed in other states.
4. Patients Can See Many Kinds of Providers Over Telehealth: State laws and regulations should allow providers to practice at the top of their license to take the next step toward a more quality-oriented, affordable, and innovative health system.

This report examines all 50 states in these four key areas.

This report does not cover all telehealth-related policy changes in 2022. For example, it ignores actions taken in states to expand or adopt compacts. Many of these smaller changes are not highlighted because they have severe limits, or only tweak around the edges.

By contrast, adopting this state policy agenda for telehealth innovation would remove deleterious barriers that have historically discriminated against those in certain geographies, such as rural communities or underserved urban areas.

The post State policy agenda for telehealth innovation appeared first on Reason Foundation.

Millions of Americans tried telehealth for the first time during the COVID-19 pandemic. Federal officials made select changes to the Medicare program and governors advanced health access with flexible provider licensure for new uses of telehealth by waiving certain barriers by executive order. All of these changes garnered numerous headlines, and many state legislatures followed suit by updating their laws.

But once the public health emergency declarations started to end or executive orders were withdrawn, overnight or shortly after, many of the new flexibilities were lost. Furthermore, even though many states passed new laws related to telehealth, many of them made incremental changes because policymakers lacked a best practices roadmap for success.

While they cannot and should not replace all in-person medical appointments, virtual visits can save patients time and help them avoid germ-filled waiting rooms. Providers can also cut down on their risk of exposure and take some pressure off overburdened systems as they can see patients from an office or home. To experience the full potential of telehealth, states should follow these best practices.

This toolkit aims to help policymakers take the next step toward a more quality-oriented, affordable, and innovative health system by ensuring that their state laws on telehealth remove deleterious barriers that have historically discriminated against those in certain geographies, such as those living in rural communities or in underserved urban areas. This report explains policy best practices for ensuring that providers and patients can fully realize the benefits of using telehealth services when appropriate and provides a simple-to-read stoplight rating for each state on how closely their policies align with those best practices. The state profiles point state lawmakers to specific sections of law and regulation that need to change to improve their ranking.

States need to act now to ensure the physical and economic needs of their state are met with a more quality and future-oriented health system.

Full Report: Rating States on Telehealth Best Practices

State Policy Agenda for Telehealth Innovation

Previous Jan. 5, 2022 Version of this Report: Rating the States on Telehealth Best Practices

The post Rating states on telehealth best practices appeared first on Reason Foundation.