89R3349 RDR-D
By: Bhojani H.B. No. 1051
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to health benefit plan coverage of telemedicine,
teledentistry, and telehealth services provided by only
synchronous or asynchronous audio interaction.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 1455.004(a), Insurance Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(a) A health benefit plan:
(1) must provide coverage for a covered health care
service or procedure delivered by a preferred or contracted health
professional to a covered patient as a telemedicine medical
service, teledentistry dental service, or telehealth 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; and
(2) may not:
(A) exclude from coverage a covered health care
service or procedure delivered by a preferred or contracted health
professional to a covered patient as a telemedicine medical
service, a teledentistry dental service, or a telehealth service
solely because the covered health care service or procedure is not
provided through an in-person consultation; and
(B) [subject to Subsection (c),] limit, deny, or
reduce coverage for a covered health care service or procedure
delivered as a telemedicine medical service, teledentistry dental
service, or telehealth service based on the health professional's
choice of platform for delivering the service or procedure.
SECTION 2. Section 1455.004(c), Insurance Code, is
repealed.
SECTION 3. The repeal of Section 1455.004(c), Insurance
Code, by this Act, applies only to a health benefit plan delivered,
issued for delivery, or renewed on or after January 1, 2026. A
health benefit plan delivered, issued for delivery, or renewed
before January 1, 2026, is governed by the law as it existed
immediately before the effective date of this Act, and that law is
continued in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.