{"id":41127,"date":"2023-02-15T11:06:28","date_gmt":"2023-02-15T16:06:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mtelehealth.com\/?p=41127"},"modified":"2023-02-15T11:06:28","modified_gmt":"2023-02-15T16:06:28","slug":"as-covid-19-emergencies-ease-some-progress-on-telehealth-rules","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/drmiltie.com\/at-home-testing\/as-covid-19-emergencies-ease-some-progress-on-telehealth-rules\/","title":{"rendered":"As COVID-19 Emergencies Ease, Some Progress on Telehealth Rules"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n

Wed, February 15, 2023 at 12:15 PM EST\u00b73 min read<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As public health emergency declarations related to the COVID-19 pandemic come to an end, a new study rates every state’s telehealth laws. The report finds Arizona and Delaware rate best across four key telehealth policy areas, while highlighting some progress in New England.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

BOSTON, Feb. 15, 2023 \/PRNewswire-PRWeb\/ — As public health emergency declarations related to the COVID-19 pandemic come to an end, Pioneer Institute, Cicero Institute, and Reason Foundation jointly release a new study<\/a> that rates every state’s telehealth laws. The report finds Arizona and Delaware rate best across four key telehealth policy areas, while highlighting some progress in New England.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Legislation in Vermont creates a clear path to allow out-of-state providers to see Vermont patients, although some barriers to access remain; in New Hampshire, new legislation gives a green light to providers to start a telehealth visit by any mode that works for them and their patients. While Massachusetts scores a “green” rating on three of the measures, the state continues to bar access to telehealth services across state lines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With the three-year COVID-19 pandemic largely under control, the Biden administration recently announced plans to end the COVID-19 national public health emergency on\u00a0May 11. Most states have already ended their public health emergency declarations, so the temporary orders and waivers that allowed millions of patients to access telehealth services during the pandemic need to be turned into permanent laws, or patients risk losing access to healthcare options and providers may lose significant incentives to innovate, a new report warns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The policy brief<\/a>, issued jointly by Pioneer Institute, Cicero Institute, and Reason Foundation, rates all 50 states in four critical areas of telehealth policy and details what each state needs to do to improve.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Arizona and Delaware stand out as the only two states rated green for good in all four key telehealth law categories related to enabling patients to access high-quality telehealth care and giving healthcare providers the flexibility to provide a variety of services now and in the future. In contrast, three states\u2014New Jersey, South Carolina, and Virginia\u2014fail to score green in any of the four categories the report deems critical to today’s telehealth services and future innovation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The report<\/a> grades every state’s telehealth laws in four areas crucial to patients, quality of care, and creating a regulatory environment that doesn’t stifle future healthcare improvements. It recommends that states:<\/p>\n\n\n\n