Connecticut SB 1052: AN ACT EXPANDING MEDICAID COVERAGE OF TELEHEALTH SERVICES.

Bill Text

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General Assembly Raised Bill No. 1052
January Session, 2019 LCO No. 5307

Referred to Committee on HUMAN SERVICES

Introduced by:
(HS)

AN ACT EXPANDING MEDICAID COVERAGE OF TELEHEALTH
SERVICES.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:

Section 1. (NEW) (Effective from passage) (a) For purposes of this 1
section, (1) "telehealth" has the same meaning as provided in section 2
19a-906 of the general statutes and includes telemental health; (2) 3
"telemental health" means the provision of remote mental health care 4
services using modalities that include, but are not limited to, (A) 5
videoconferencing, (B) computer programs, and (C) mobile 6
applications by a variety of mental health care providers operating 7
within their scopes of practice; (3) (A) "asynchronous", (B) "originating 8
site", (C) "remote patient monitoring", (D) "store and forward transfer", 9
and (E) "synchronous" have the same meaning as provided in section 10
19a-906 of the general statutes; and (4) "electronic consultations" means 11
the sharing of information and advice electronically by providers. 12
(b) The Commissioner of Social Services shall expand coverage of 13
telehealth services under the medical assistance program. 14
Notwithstanding any provision of section 19a-906 of the general 15
statutes, the commissioner shall provide Medicaid coverage state wide 16

Raised Bill No. 1052

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not later than July 1, 2020, for (1) asynchronous transmission of health 17
information, (2) electronic consultations, (3) remote patient monitoring, 18
(4) store and forward transfer of a patient's medical information, and 19
(5) synchronous forms of telehealth services whenever such coverage 20
meets federal Medicaid requirements for efficiency, economy and 21
quality of care. 22
(c) On and after July 1, 2019, the commissioner shall phase in state-23
wide coverage of telehealth services beginning with (1) chronic 24
conditions, including, but not limited to, diabetes and cardiac 25
conditions, (2) behavioral disorders, including, but not limited to, 26
substance abuse, and (3) mental health disorders. The commissioner 27
shall establish requirements for telehealth providers to ensure privacy 28
of patient information and consent for telehealth services. The 29
commissioner may limit coverage of telehealth services to originating 30
sites and licensed providers approved by the commissioner. 31
(d) The commissioner may seek federal approval for a Medicaid 32
state plan amendment, if necessary, to establish rates of 33
reimbursement for telehealth services not already included under 34
other rates of reimbursement in the Medicaid state plan. The 35
commissioner shall seek federal approval of any Medicaid waiver or 36
other program authorized by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid 37
Services that would allow for (1) a more expeditious expansion of 38
telehealth services, or (2) a higher rate of federal reimbursement for 39
such services. The submission of any such Medicaid state plan 40
amendment or waiver shall be in accordance with the provisions of 41
section 17b-8 of the general statutes. 42
Sec. 2. Section 17b-245e of the general statutes is repealed (Effective 43
from passage) 44
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:

Section 1 from passage New section
Sec. 2 from passage 17b-245e

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Statement of Purpose:
To require the Commissioner of Social Services to expand Medicaid
coverage of telehealth services state wide whenever such coverage
meets federal Medicaid requirements for efficiency, economy and
quality of care.
[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline,
except that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is
not underlined.]