The Commonwealth Fund Releases Report on State Actions on Telehealth

The Commonwealth Fund has released an issue brief on their analysis of state actions to improve health insurance coverage for virtual provider visits, both during the COVID-19 public health emergency, and once the emergency has lifted. They reviewed new laws, emergency orders, regulatory guidance, and other administration actions from March 2020 to March 2021 and found a total of 40 states taking steps to enhance coverage for telemedicine, with 18 states requiring coverage of audio-only visits. States also took action on payment parity and patient cost-sharing. In the time period of their study five states – Utah, Illinois, West Virginia, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire – took action to ensure coverage of virtual visits permanently or temporarily post-pandemic.

Read the issue brief.

Learn more about telehealth and palliative care in CAPC’s telehealth toolkit.