Full access
Professional News
Published Online: 19 March 2004

States Require Reimbursement For Telemedicine

Publication: Psychiatric News
Volume 39, Number 6
https://doi.org/10.1176/pn.39.6.0014a
Five states—California, Louisiana, Texas, Oklahoma, and Kentucky—have passed legislation mandating private insurance coverage of medical services provided by telemedicine, according to the American Telemedicine Association.
The Louisiana law (SB 773, approved in 1995) states that a health care provider participating at the originating terminus of a telemedicine transmission shall be reimbursed at a rate of not less than 75 percent of the amount of reimbursement for an office visit. The bill prohibits provisions in health and accident policies that discriminate against payments for telemedicine.
In California, the law (SB 1665, approved in 1996) prohibits insurers from requiring face-to-face contact between a clinician and patient for services appropriately provided through telemedicine, subject to the terms of the contract.
The Oklahoma law (SB 48, 1997) provides that health care plans cannot deny coverage for services provided through audio, video, or data communications. This would allow compensation for patient consultations and diagnoses and the transfer of medical information through telecommunication technology. The law excludes telephone and fax communications from the term “telemedicine.”
Kentucky prohibits Medicaid and private insurers from excluding coverage for services provided through telemedicine. Likewise, Texas prohibits private plans from excluding coverage for telemedicine services; those services may be subject to deductible and copayment requirements not to exceed those for face-to-face services.
More information is posted online at www.amdtelemedicine.com/private_payer/state_legislation.cfm.

Information & Authors

Information

Published In

Go to Psychiatric News
Psychiatric News
Volume 39 • Number 6 • March 19, 2004
Pages: 14

History

Published online: 19 March 2004
Published in print: March 19, 2004

Authors

Metrics & Citations

Metrics

Citations

Export Citations

If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.

For more information or tips please see 'Downloading to a citation manager' in the Help menu.

Format
Citation style
Style
Copy to clipboard
Tips for downloading citations

There are no citations for this item

View Options

View options

Get Access

Login options

Already a subscriber? Access your subscription through your login credentials or your institution for full access to this article.

Personal login Institutional Login Open Athens login

Not a subscriber?

Subscribe Now / Learn More

PsychiatryOnline subscription options offer access to the DSM-5-TR® library, books, journals, CME, and patient resources. This all-in-one virtual library provides psychiatrists and mental health professionals with key resources for diagnosis, treatment, research, and professional development.

Need more help? PsychiatryOnline Customer Service may be reached by emailing [email protected] or by calling 800-368-5777 (in the U.S.) or 703-907-7322 (outside the U.S.).

Media

Figures

Other

Tables

Share

Share

Share article link

Share