DIGEST
The digest printed below was prepared by House Legislative Services. It constitutes no part of the
legislative instrument. The keyword, one-liner, abstract, and digest do not constitute part of the law
or proof or indicia of legislative intent. [R.S. 1:13(B) and 24:177(E)]
HB 530 Original 2020 Regular Session Echols
Abstract: Requires health insurance coverage for services provided through telehealth or
telemedicine.
Proposed law defines "health coverage plan", "healthcare professional", "medication adherence
management services", "platform", "qualifying patient", "qualified telemedicine equipment and
network", "remote patient monitoring services", "store-and-forward telemedicine services",
"telehealth", and "telemedicine".
Proposed law requires any health coverage plan delivered or issued for delivery in this state to
provide coverage for a covered healthcare service or procedure delivered by a preferred or contracted
healthcare professional to a covered patient as a telemedicine medical service or a telehealth
healthcare service on the same basis and to the same extent that the plan provides coverage for the
service or procedure in an in-person setting subject to the limitations established by proposed law.
Proposed law provides an exception for a telemedicine medical service or a telehealth healthcare
service provided by only synchronous or asynchronous audio interaction, including but not limited
to an audio-only telephone consultation, a text-only email message, or a facsimile transmission.
Proposed law requires an issuer of a health coverage plan to adopt and display in a conspicuous
manner on the health coverage plan issuer's internet website the issuer's policies and payment
practices for telemedicine medical services and telehealth healthcare services.
Proposed law requires any health coverage plan delivered or issued for delivery in this state to
provide coverage and reimbursement for the asynchronous telemedicine services of
store-and-forward telemedicine services to the same extent that the services would be covered if they
were provided through in-person consultation, subject to the limitations established by proposed law.
Proposed law provides that any patient receiving medical care by store-and-forward telemedicine
services may request interactive communication with the distant specialist healthcare professional
and prohibits any telemedicine network unable to offer the interactive consultation from being
reimbursed for store-and-forward telemedicine services.
Proposed law requires any health coverage plan delivered or issued for delivery in this state to
provide coverage and reimbursement for remote patient monitoring services using qualified
telemedicine equipment and network for a qualifying patient, subject to the limitations established
by proposed law. Proposed law requires remote patient monitoring services through telehealth to consist of an
assessment, problem identification, and evaluation and the implementation of a management plan.
Proposed law requires the entity that will provide the remote monitoring services to be a
Louisiana-based entity and have certain enumerated protocols in place.
Proposed law requires a remote patient monitoring prior authorization request form to be submitted
to the health coverage plan to request coverage for remote patient monitoring services.
Proposed law requires remote patient monitoring services to be reimbursed at a daily monitoring rate
of a minimum of $10 per day each month and $16 per day when medication adherence management
services are included, not to exceed 31 days per month, and a one-time telehealth installation and
training fee for remote patient monitoring services at a minimum rate of $50 per patient, with a
maximum of two installation and training fees per calendar year.
Proposed law limits eligibility for the reimbursement rates to only La.-based telehealth or
telemedicine programs affiliated with a La. healthcare facility.
Proposed law does not apply to any plan providing coverage for excepted benefits, limited benefit
health insurance plans, and short-term policies that have a term of less than 12 months.
Present law prohibits a reimbursement under a health coverage plan from being denied to a
healthcare provider conducting or participating in the transmission at the originating healthcare
facility or terminus who is physically present with the patient and is contemporaneously
communicating and interacting with a healthcare professional at the receiving terminus of the
transmission. Further requires the reimbursement to the healthcare professional at the originating
facility or terminus to be not less than 75% of the reasonable and customary amount of
reimbursement which that healthcare professional receives for an intermediate office visit.
Proposed law retains present law but relocates the provisions to a new citation.
(Adds R.S. 22:1841-1847; Repeals R.S. 22:1821(F))