Page 8 State Telehealth Laws and Reimbursement Policies A Comprehensive Scan of the 50 States and District of Columbia

• Idaho • Mississippi • Pennsylvania
• Indiana • Missouri • Tennessee
• Kansas • Nebraska • Texas
• Kentucky • Nevada • Vermont
• Louisiana • New Jersey • West Virginia
• Maine • Ohio • Wisconsin
• Maryland • Oklahoma • Wyoming
Licensure

Ten state medical boards issue special licenses or certificates related to telehealth. The licenses could
allow an out-of-state provider to render services via telemedicine in a state where they are not located, or
allow a clinician to provide services via telehealth in a state if certain conditions are met (such as
agreeing that they will not open an office in that state). States with such licenses are:

• Alabama • Oklahoma
• Louisiana • Oregon
• Montana • Tennessee (both the medical and
• Nevada osteopathic boards issue such
• New Mexico licenses)
• Ohio • Texas

Other states have laws that don’t specifically address telehealth and/or telemedicine licensing, but make
allowances for practicing in contiguous states, or in certain situations where a temporary license might be
issued provided the specific state’s licensing conditions are met.

Online Prescribing
There are a number of nuances and differences across the states. However, most states consider using
only an internet/online questionnaire to establish a patient-provider relationship (needed to write a
prescription in most states) as inadequate. States may also require that a physical exam be administered
prior to a prescription being written, but not all states require an in-person examination, and some
specifically allow the use of telehealth to conduct the exam.

Private Payers
Currently, twenty-four states and the District of Columbia have active laws that govern private payer
telehealth reimbursement policies. Not all of these laws mandate reimbursement. Additionally, some
private payer laws require that the reimbursement amount for a telehealth-delivered service be equal to
the amount that would have been reimbursed, had the same service been delivered in-person; however,
this is not always the case.

Current Legislation
Currently in the 2015 legislative session, thirty-two states have introduced telehealth-related legislation.
Many bills address different aspects of reimbursement in regards to both private payers and Medicaid,
with some bills making changes to existing reimbursement laws. Many states have also proposed
legislation that would adopt the Federation of State Medical Board’s model language for an Interstate
Medical Licensure Compact. Where appropriate, newly passed and/or approved legislation and
regulations are noted for each state. However, many of these changes may not currently be in
effect.