Bill Text - HB1471 (2018)

(New Title) relative to telemedicine and establishing a committee to study health care reimbursement for telemedicine and telehealth.


Revision: Nov. 3, 2017, 11:32 a.m.

HB 1471-FN - AS INTRODUCED

 

 

2018 SESSION

18-2399

01/08

 

HOUSE BILL 1471-FN

 

AN ACT relative to telemedicine.

 

SPONSORS: Rep. Migliore, Graf. 9; Sen. Fuller Clark, Dist 21

 

COMMITTEE: Health, Human Services and Elderly Affairs

 

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ANALYSIS

 

This bill clarifies the law relating to telemedicine services.

 

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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.

Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]

Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.

18-2399

01/08

 

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

 

In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Eighteen

 

AN ACT relative to telemedicine.

 

Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:

 

1  Telemedicine; Definitions.  Amend RSA 415-J:2, I to read as follows:

I.  "Distant site" means the location of the health care provider delivering services through telemedicine at the time the services are provided.

I-a.  "Health benefit policy'' means any individual or group plan, policy, or contract for health care services issued, delivered, issued for delivery, executed, or renewed in this state, including, but not limited to, those contracts executed by the state of New Hampshire on behalf of state employees under RSA 21-I, by an insurer.

2  New Paragraph; Telemedicine; Definitions.  Amend RSA 415-J:2 by inserting after paragraph II the following new paragraph:

II-a.  "Originating site" means the location of the patient, whether or not accompanied by a health care provider, at the time services are provided by a health care provider through telemedicine, including, but not limited to, a health care provider's office, a hospital, or a health care facility, or the patient's home or another nonmedical environment such as a school-based health center, a university- based health center, or the patient's workplace.

3  Coverage for Telemedicine Services.  Amend RSA 415-J:3, I and II to read as follows:

I.  It is the intent of the general court to recognize the application of telemedicine for covered services provided within the scope of practice of a physician or other health care provider as a method of delivery of medical care by which an individual at an originating site shall receive medical services which are clinically appropriate for delivery through telemedicine from a health care provider at a distant site without in-person contact with the provider.

II.  An insurer offering a health plan in this state may not deny coverage on the sole basis that the coverage is provided through telemedicine if the health care service would be covered if it were provided through in-person consultation between the covered person and a health care provider.  The insurance reimbursement rates for telemedicine services shall be the same as that for such services provided in the provider's office or facility.

4  Effective Date.  This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.

 

LBAO

18-2399

10/30/17

 

HB 1471-FN- FISCAL NOTE

AS INTRODUCED

 

AN ACT relative to telemedicine.

 

FISCAL IMPACT:      [ X ] State              [ X ] County               [ X ] Local              [    ] None

 

 

 

Estimated Increase / (Decrease)

STATE:

FY 2019

FY 2020

FY 2021

FY 2022

   Appropriation

$0

$0

$0

$0

   Revenue

Indeterminable

Indeterminable

Indeterminable

Indeterminable

   Expenditures

Indeterminable

Indeterminable

Indeterminable

Indeterminable

Funding Source:

  [ X ] General            [ X ] Education            [ X ] Highway           [ X ] Other - Insurance Premium Tax

 

 

 

 

 

COUNTY:

 

 

 

 

   Revenue

$0

$0

$0

$0

   Expenditures

Indeterminable

Indeterminable

Indeterminable

Indeterminable

 

 

 

 

 

LOCAL:

 

 

 

 

   Revenue

$0

$0

$0

$0

   Expenditures

Indeterminable

Indeterminable

Indeterminable

Indeterminable

 

METHODOLOGY:

This bill add definitions of "distant site" and "originating site" to the statute governing telemedicine, RSA 415-J.  Insurance reimbursement rates for telemedicine services shall be the same as for such services provided in the provider's office or facility.

 

The Insurance Department assumes the reimbursement will be based on what the provider would receive if services were provided at the distant site and not the originating site.  Such reimbursement is assumed to be a function of whether the provider and the distant site are considered in-network or out-of-network.  The Department has no information regarding current practices, such as if carriers discount reimbursement rates for telemedicine, and thus concludes the impact on premium tax revenue is indeterminable.

 

The Department of Administrative Services states the bill applies to the State of New Hampshire's Employee and Retiree Health Benefits Plan.  The state currently provides clinically appropriate telemedicine services through its medical third party administrator (TPA) to all members of it active employee and non-Medicare retiree Health Benefits Plans.  Generally, current telemedicine service reimbursement rates are equal to 70% of the reimbursement rates paid for on-site office visits.  This bill will increase the cost of telemedicine services to the State Health Benefit Plan by an indeterminable amount because the volume of future telemedicine claims is unknown.

 

AGENCIES CONTACTED:

Department of Insurance and Department of Administrative Services