Cornerstones: Telehealth legislation

At the end of June 2021, the New Jersey legislature passed a bill that addresses a key issue with the implementation of telehealth: payment parity. The legislation levels the playing field in terms of consultation payouts by insurers versus in-person patient visits.

Telehealth is not new in the medical arena. For years, doctors and hospitals have used telehealth in their practices. A number of factors limited its use, including technical knowledge and trust among patients, especially the elderly, but one key reason prohibited its widespread adoption: insurance companies paid less for telehealth consultations, meaning that healthcare providers made more on in-person visits.

The issue rose to the spotlight with the COVID-19 pandemic. Suddenly, patients either couldn’t visit their doctor’s office or the hospital for treatment of their various ailments or they were afraid to because of the virus’ spread. The answer was telemedicine, and the practice took office almost instantly.

Just as suddenly, the calls went out demanding payers provide equal payment for telehealth consultations. Just as quickly, contentions arose, given that the area had been mostly unregulated at the federal or state level. Insurers simply applied their assessment and doctors had little recourse to force changes.

New Jersey took a giant step to eliminate this hurdle with Bill 2559, which amended an earlier 2017 law that set the standards for telehealth practices and imposed requirements for insurance coverage, including Medicaid. The ensuing issue was that telehealth rates could be set up to amounts paid for in-person visits, meaning doctors were usually paid much less for using telehealth. Bill 2559 puts the rate for both insurers and Medicaid on par with in-person visits, while adding more flexibility, including coverage for out-of-state telehealth consultations.

The legislation passed the New Jersey Senate in June 2021.

Education:

There is a renewed interest, and need, to make education more inclusive and accessible. The growing fields of tech and the new industries of AI and automation are set to alter the world. Add to these trends the cataclysm of the pandemic and the next five to 10 years are certain to usher in changes and new dynamics in the education sector.