Telehealth Laws May Be Revised by Legislature
/Existing Connecticut law generally sets requirements and restrictions for the delivery of telehealth services and insurance coverage of these services. That may change if the legislature tackles the issue in the 2024 session, which convenes on February 7.
As the Office of Legislative Research recently pointed out, “in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the legislature enacted PA 21-9, which temporarily replaced these requirements with similar but more expansive ones until June 30, 2023. PA 22-81 extended the more expansive requirements until June 30, 2024.”
Among other things, according to OLR, these temporary requirements:
expand the types of health providers authorized to provide telehealth services and service delivery methods;
allow all out-of-state authorized providers to practice telehealth in Connecticut, instead of only certain mental and behavioral health providers; and
generally provide health insurance service and payment parity for telehealth.
OLR noted that during the 2024 session, the legislature may consider proposals to extend the act’s sunset date past June 30, 2024, or make some of these temporary requirements permanent.
Last year, the legislature made permanent (1) the ability of certain out-of-state mental or behavioral health providers to practice telehealth in Connecticut and (2) expansions to Connecticut Medical Assistance Program (CMAP) telehealth coverage, including payment parity for providers and coverage for audio-only services under certain conditions, according to OLR analysis.
Under PA 22-81, OLR explains, “telehealth” is a way of delivering health care services through information and communication technologies to facilitate the diagnosis, consultation and treatment, education, care management, and self-management of a patient’s physical, oral, and mental health. It excludes fax, texting, and email but allows audio-only telephone.
