The Federal Communications Commission’s national broadband plan seeks to promote telemedicine, but the national health care bill recently-passed by Congress fails to include support for it.
However, last week Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell (R) signed SB 675, a health insurance bill that mandates coverage for telemedicine services.
It requires insurers to cover all telemedicine services, making Virginia the 14th state to enact such legislation. According to the American Telemedicine Association, 23 states currently allow for Medicaid reimbursement, while California, Hawaii, New Hampshire, North Dakota, and Texas have telemedicine legislation pending.
The rural state of Wyoming has no telemedicine legislation pending, and is one of the few states that does not allow for Medicaid reimbursement, either.
