While nearly all state Medicaid programs provide reimbursement for some telehealth services, policies are not consistent across the U.S., and some states' policies are much more telehealth-friendly than others, a recent Manatt analysis shows.
Manatt, a legal and consulting firm, conducted a review of laws and Medicaid program policies related to telehealth across all 50 states. The analysis focused on six key telehealth issues: practice standards and licensure; coverage and reimbursement; eligible patient settings; eligible provider types; eligible technologies; and service limitations. Based on the analysis, the firm categorized states into three categories:
- Progressive, in which state law and Medicaid policy enable and encourage the broad use of telehealth
- Moderate, in which state law and Medicaid policy are mixed or moderately support the broad use of telehealth
- Restrictive, in which state law and Medicaid policy may inhibit the broad use of telehealth
Here is how all 50 states and Washington, D.C., stacked up:
Progressive
- Alaska
- Arizona
- California
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Florida
- Hawaii
- Idaho
- Maine
- Minnesota
- Missouri
- Montana
- Nebraska
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- Nevada
- New York
- Utah
- Vermont
- Washington
Moderate
- Alabama
- D.C.
- Delaware
- Iowa
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Michigan
- Mississippi
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Virginia
- Wisconsin
- West Virginia
- Wyoming
Restrictive
- Arkansas
- Georgia
- Massachusetts
- Maryland
- North Carolina
- North Dakota
- New Hampshire
- Ohio
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- South Carolina
- Texas
Click here to access the complete report.