A new bill introduced in the US House of Representatives called The TELEmedicine for MEDicare (TELE-MED) Act would allow licensed physicians and nurse practitioners to deliver telemedicine services to Medicare beneficiaries in any state. 
Currently, healthcare providers must be licensed in the state where the patient is located in order to receive reimbursement from Medicare. This means physicians and nurse practitioners must obtain multiple state licenses if they wish to provide services to patients in multiple states. The TELE-MED Act gained endorsement from The Health IT Now Coalition. The group said in a press release that, “Congress has already had success in implementing a national telemedicine framework for members of the Department of Defense and Veterans Administration. This bill does the same thing for Medicare beneficiaries, the number of whom is expected to rise to 81 million by 2030.” The American Telemedicine Association also showed its support for the bill in its own release, asking Congress to go even further in expanding telemedicine access. ATA Chief Executive Officer Jonathan Linkous said, “We urge Congress to expand this licensure model for telemedicine to other federal agencies and health benefit programs.” The bill would eliminate the licensure problem, but it does not define the term “telemedicine services”, so it is unclear whether Medicare will cover telemedicine services provided in place of in-person treatment. Currently, Medicare and Medicaid only reimburse telehealth services provided in place of patient-physician interaction if the patient is located in specific locations, including rural health professional shortage areas. Last year, Rep. Mike Thompson introduced a bill that redefined “telehealth” to cover remote treatment in any case in which the equivalent in-person treatment would be covered, but the Congressional session ended before lawmakers could act on the bill. The TELE-MED Act requires the Secretary to issue guidance on the definition within nine months after the bill is enacted. Still, it is encouraging that lawmakers are again trying remove restrictions placed on telemedicine services so that it can be used to treat the growing number of Medicare patients. With the expected physician shortage, it could make a difference in many lives.
Currently, healthcare providers must be licensed in the state where the patient is located in order to receive reimbursement from Medicare. This means physicians and nurse practitioners must obtain multiple state licenses if they wish to provide services to patients in multiple states. The TELE-MED Act gained endorsement from The Health IT Now Coalition. The group said in a press release that, “Congress has already had success in implementing a national telemedicine framework for members of the Department of Defense and Veterans Administration. This bill does the same thing for Medicare beneficiaries, the number of whom is expected to rise to 81 million by 2030.” The American Telemedicine Association also showed its support for the bill in its own release, asking Congress to go even further in expanding telemedicine access. ATA Chief Executive Officer Jonathan Linkous said, “We urge Congress to expand this licensure model for telemedicine to other federal agencies and health benefit programs.” The bill would eliminate the licensure problem, but it does not define the term “telemedicine services”, so it is unclear whether Medicare will cover telemedicine services provided in place of in-person treatment. Currently, Medicare and Medicaid only reimburse telehealth services provided in place of patient-physician interaction if the patient is located in specific locations, including rural health professional shortage areas. Last year, Rep. Mike Thompson introduced a bill that redefined “telehealth” to cover remote treatment in any case in which the equivalent in-person treatment would be covered, but the Congressional session ended before lawmakers could act on the bill. The TELE-MED Act requires the Secretary to issue guidance on the definition within nine months after the bill is enacted. Still, it is encouraging that lawmakers are again trying remove restrictions placed on telemedicine services so that it can be used to treat the growing number of Medicare patients. With the expected physician shortage, it could make a difference in many lives.
