Dive Brief:
- Arkansas legislators have rejected a bill that would have allowed Arkansas physicians to offer video-based care to state residents.
- The bill, which was sponsored by Rep. Dan Sullivan, R-Jonesboro was rejected by a 49-21 vote. Opponents of the bill said that Arkansas residents deserve to receive their medical care face-to-face.
- Sullivan says he will work to submit new legislation; there is a Senate-backed bill still under consideration in the House that would allow telemedicine services after an in-person meeting between the patient and physician.
Dive Insight:
According to the American Telemedicine Association, at least 23 states and the District of Columbia currently have laws that require telemedicine services to be reimbursed by private payers at the same rates as in-person visits. Additionally, Medicaid programs in 46 states pay for live video consults. Some also pay for store-and-forward services, remote patient monitoring and hosting telemedicine services.
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