Page 2 Telehealth Modernization Act of 2015

•

BILL DRAFT CURRENT LAW

5. Practitioner should provide in electronic and paper format Many states require some in-person visit, or
information regarding the health education, certification, and prohibit the issuance of a prescription based
credentials of the health care professional at the option of upon only filling out a form. Condition 6
the individual; conceivably does not prevent a provider from
6. Practitioner should offer no assurance that any item or prescribing medication to a patient who has
service, including a prescription, will be issued in exchange only filled out a questionnaire or form.
for a fee, or solely in response to completing a form or
questionnaire;
7. Prescriptions issued should meet the following requirements:
A. Issued for a legitimate medical purpose;
B. Practitioner has obtained a medical history, and
conducted an evaluation of the individual, adequate to
establish a diagnosis;
C. Prescription is not for a drug or substance in schedule
II, III or IV of section 202(c) of the Controlled Substanc-
es Act.

In the construction of this bill, nothing shall be construed to
change the application of HIPAA privacy regulations with respect
to a health care professional’s provision of telehealth, or affect
the standard of care as established by State law or policy.

Impact and Analysis

This bill is not intended to impact Medicare’s telehealth definition or reimbursement criteria, and is being offered as
“guidance” or a “floor” for consideration by states. However, it is unclear where in federal law this legislation would be
placed if passed, and the impact on other telehealth-related programs is therefore unknown. For example, there is
uncertainty about whether the Telehealth Resource Centers, established under the Public Health and Welfare code,
would be obligated to follow the new “telehealth” definition.

Suggesting that states include a specific list of conditions to which telehealth-delivered health care would be subject
raises several concerns. Currently, no state lists requirements on telehealth with such specificity; some states simply
note that telehealth is subject to the same requirements that in-person delivered services must meet. States some-
times duplicate federal policies, such as some Medicaid programs requiring the patient to be in a rural area in order
to be eligible for telehealth-delivered services.

The passage of this bill would raise several questions for states, such as:
• Will states begin to adopt this specific list of requirements when they have not required anything like it in the
past?
• If a state does not have any laws or regulations related to the items listed in the conditions, will the Matsui bill
act as the standard in that state?
Additionally, Conditions 6 and 7 related to e-prescribing would suggest a base level contrary to what exists in most
states, where completing a form or questionnaire is inadequate for prescription issuance regardless of whether this
was done in person or via telehealth. Neither Condition 6 nor 7 prohibit such an action taking place; a provider is only
prohibited from offering assurances that it will take place. It appears to set a lower floor than telehealth’s current
standards.
• •
Ph: 877-707-7172 I info@cchp.org I www.cchpca.org
1331 Garden Highway, Sacramento, CA 95833