The COVID-19 pandemic has opened doors for telehealth expansion, with states expanding access and insurance coverage. However, as states begin to re-open, many will need to take action to make those changes permanent once emergency orders are lifted.
Here are four states that are working to establish permanent telehealth access and coverage post pandemic:
1. A Colorado Senate committee on June 3 passed a bipartisan bill that aims to uphold patients' ability to receive care via telehealth that was implemented during the COVID-19 public health emergency.
2. The Rhode Island Senate Health and Human Services Committee on May 27 advanced a bill that would permanently require payers to cover telemedicine services at the same rate as in-person services.
3. Illinois' House passed a bill in late May that would have extended Gov. J.B. Pritzker's executive order in March that requires insurers to reimburse telehealth services at the same rate as in-person. However, the legislation did not come up for a Senate vote before lawmakers adjourned, according to Bloomberg. The Partnership for Connected Illinois project is now studying telehealth's benefits to lobby lawmakers, according to the report.