Connecticut 2021 Regular Session

Connecticut House Bill HB06472 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

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5	5	LCO No. 3480 1 of 3
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7	7	General Assembly Raised Bill No. 6472
8	8	January Session, 2021
9	9	LCO No. 3480
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12	12	Referred to Committee on HUMAN SERVICES
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15	15	Introduced by:
16	16	(HS)
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21	21	AN ACT CONCERNING TE LEHEALTH.
22	22	Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
23	23	Assembly convened:
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26	26	Section 1. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2021) (a) As used in this section, (1) 1
27	27	"commissioner" means the Commissioner of Social Services; (2) 2
28	28	"department" means the Department of Social Services; (3) 3
29	29	"asynchronous", "originating site", "remote patient monitoring", "store 4
30	30	and forward transfer" and "synchronous" have the same meanings as 5
31	31	provided in section 19a-906 of the general statutes; and (4) "telehealth" 6
32	32	means the provision of health care or other health care services via 7
33	33	information and communication technologies to facilitate the diagnosis, 8
34	34	consultation and treatment, education, care management and self-9
35	35	management of a patient's physical and mental health, and includes, but 10
36	36	is not limited to (A) interaction between the patient at the originating 11
37	37	site and the telehealth provider at a distant site, and (B) synchronous 12
38	38	interactions, asynchronous store and forward transfers or remote 13
39	39	patient monitoring. "Telehealth" does not include the use of a facsimile, 14
40	40	a text messaging device or electronic mail. 15 Raised Bill No. 6472
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44	44	LCO No. 3480 2 of 3
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46	46	(b) Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 17b-245c, 17b-245e 16
47	47	and 19a-906 of the general statutes, the commissioner shall provide 17
48	48	coverage under the Medicaid program for telehealth services in 18
49	49	accordance with this section and to the extent permissible under federal 19
50	50	law for a period of two years ending on June 30, 2023. The commissioner 20
51	51	shall provide Medicaid reimbursement for services delivered via 21
52	52	telehealth to the same extent as if the service was delivered in person, 22
53	53	including, but not limited to, audio-only telehealth services when (1) 23
54	54	such services can be delivered in a clinically appropriate manner, as 24
55	55	determined by the commissioner, by means of a telephone, or (2) when 25
56	56	a patient is unable to connect with telehealth providers by video due to 26
57	57	access barriers, including, but not limited to, lack of technology, 27
58	58	equipment or Internet access. 28
59	59	(c) The commissioner shall not (1) impose higher patient cost sharing 29
60	60	or more stringent prior authorization standards for telehealth services 30
61	61	than in-person services, (2) limit coverage under the Medicaid program 31
62	62	based on the provider's or patient's location during telehealth services, 32
63	63	(3) prohibit a physician-patient relationship from being established via 33
64	64	a telehealth visit, (4) prohibit a patient from providing consent to 34
65	65	services or procedures verbally during a telehealth visit, or (5) limit 35
66	66	coverage to an existing patient. 36
67	67	(d) The commissioner shall require that the transmission, storage and 37
68	68	dissemination of data and records related to telehealth services be in 38
69	69	accordance with federal and state law and regulations concerning the 39
70	70	privacy, security, confidentiality and safeguarding of individually 40
71	71	identifiable information. 41
72	72	(e) Not later than February 1, 2023, the commissioner shall submit a 42
73	73	report, in accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a of the general 43
74	74	statutes, to the joint standing committees of the General Assembly 44
75	75	having cognizance of matters relating to human services and public 45
76	76	health on (1) whether the expansion of telehealth services pursuant to 46
77	77	this section has increased access to health care among Medicaid 47
78	78	beneficiaries, (2) regions of the state that have experienced an increase 48 Raised Bill No. 6472
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82	82	LCO No. 3480 3 of 3
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84	84	in access due to the expansion of telehealth services, (3) any cost savings 49
85	85	realized by the state for nonemergency transportation or other services 50
86	86	related to the expansion of telehealth services, and (4) recommendations 51
87	87	concerning whether Medicaid beneficiaries would benefit from a 52
88	88	permanent expansion of telehealth services in accordance with this 53
89	89	section. 54
90	90	(f) The commissioner may implement policies and procedures as 55
91	91	necessary to carry out the provisions of this section while in the process 56
92	92	of adopting the policies and procedures as regulations, provided notice 57
93	93	of intent to adopt the regulations is published in accordance with the 58
94	94	provisions of section 17b-10 of the general statutes. 59
95	95	This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
96	96	sections:
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98	98	Section 1 July 1, 2021 New section
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100	100	Statement of Purpose:
101	101	To expand telehealth services for Medicaid beneficiaries for a period of
102	102	two years and study whether the benefits of expanding such services
103	103	should be made permanent.
104	104	[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline, except
105	105	that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not
106	106	underlined.]
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