The following is a list of legislative activities compiled by the Center for Connected Health Policy (CCHP) for telehealth and telemedicine within the South Central region (AR, MS, and TN). CCHP has a pending legislation/regulation webpage located at the following link: http://cchpca.org/state-laws-and-reimbursement-policies.
LEGISLATION
Passed Legislation
| State | Bill # | Status | Summary |
| Arkansas | SB 146 | 2/17/17: Signed by Governor | This bill would create the Telemedicine Act; amend the definition of telemedicine and originating site; addresses requirements of a professional relationship when using telemedicine; adds standards for the appropriate use of telemedicine; address insurance coverage of telemedicine; and for other purposes. |
| Arkansas | HB 1556 | 3/9/17: Signed by Governor | Amends the Arkansas medical marijuana amendment of 2016; prohibits telemedicine as the method by which a qualifying patient obtains a written certification.
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| Arkansas | SB 78 | 3/8/17: Signed by Governor
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Requires the AR State Medical Board to perform an analysis of the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact to determine whether the state of Arkansas should participate. |
| Tennessee | SB 195 | 4/19/17: Chaptered
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Relates to health care; Adds healthcare services provided to a patient at a public elementary or secondary school to the current definition of telehealth services for which health insurance entities are required to reimburse in a manner that is consistent with reimbursement for in-person encounters.
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| Tennessee | HB 664 | 5/11/17: Enacted | Enacts the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact. |
Session Ended
| State | Bill # | Status | Summary |
| Arkansas | HB 1437 | 5/7/17: Died in Senate | Amends the Laws concerning telemedicine; creates the Telemedicine Act.
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| Mississippi | HB 1093 | 1/31/17: Died | Requires the Director of Medicaid to apply to CMS for any waivers for the approval of experimental, pilot or demonstration projects that promote the objectives of providing services to eligible individuals. The waiver should, among other items, authorize the state to more extensively incorporate and encourage telemedicine options. |
| Mississippi | HB 318 | 2/28/17: Died | This bill establishes the MS Rural Hospital Transition and Improvement Grant Program. Among other elements grant monies may be used by the rural hospital to establish a telemedicine system. |
| Mississippi | HB 555 | 2/28/17: Died | Makes minor amendments to the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact language. |
| Mississippi | HB 861 | 1/31/17: Died in committee | Requires State and School Employees Health Insurance Management Board to establish a pilot program for urgent health care services using a telemedicine kiosk model managed by the University of Mississippi Medical Center. |
| Mississippi | HB 96 | 1/31/17: Died | Allows testing required under the Medicaid program, Children’s Health Insurance program and State and School Employees health Insurance Plan for illegal drugs, alcohol, hepatitis B and C, TB and sexually transmitted diseases to be covered when delivered through telemedicine. |
| Tennessee | HB 518 | 4/5/17: Taken off notice of cal. in s/c Health Subcommittee | Requires the commissioner of health to study and report on recommendations for legislation concerning telehealth and telemedicine under existing statute. The recommendations must examine the need for improving the effective use of telemedicine and telehealth among healthcare providers and insurers. |
| Tennessee | SB 601 | 4/4/17: In Senate Committee on Commerce and Labor. Referred to General Subcommittee. | Requires the commissioner of health to study and report on recommendations for legislation concerning telehealth and telemedicine under existing statute. The recommendations must examine the need for improving the effective use of telemedicine and telehealth among healthcare providers and insurers. |
REGULATION
Pending Regulation
| State | Reg. Citation | Status | Summary |
| Arkansas | 016.06.16 | 11/28/16: Proposed rule
Comment Deadline: 12/30/16 |
Title: Telemedicine Policy
Agency: Department of Human Services, Division of Medical Services Amends rules to update the Telemedicine policy to provide clarification of interactive audio and visual transmission of the physician patient encounter.
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| Arkansas | 016.06.17 | 7/13/17: Notice of intended action
Comment deadline: 8/11/17 |
Title: Provider-Led Arkansas Shared Savings Entities
Agency: Division of Medical Services A new Provider-Led Arkansas Shared Savings Entity (PASSE) Program policy manual is available for all PASSE providers. Provides a definition for telemedicine and allows the required face-to-face encounter for care coordinators to take place over telemedicine. |
| Arkansas | 067.00.17 | 9/27/17: Proposed rule
Comment Deadline: 11/3/17 |
Title: Advanced Practice Registered Nurse
Agency: Board of Nursing Amends rules regarding advanced practice registered nurses. Creates telemedicine standards for the profession. |
| Tennessee | TAC 0800-2-17-.1-.25 | 4/13/17: Proposed rule
Comment Deadline: 5/28/17 |
Title: Rules for Medical Payments
Agency: Division of Workers’ Compensation For telehealth, states that the definitions, licensing and processes for the purpose of these rules shall be the same as adopted by the Tennessee Department of Health. Reimbursement will be based upon the applicable Medicare guidelines and coding for the different service providers. |
Adopted Rules
| State | Bill # | Status | Summary |
| Arkansas | 060.00.16
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12/15/16: Adopted
Effective: 12/25/16 |
Title: Regulation 38: Telemedicine
Agency: AR Medical Board Amends rule concerning telemedicine to establish a requirement for physicians to provide services. Specifically, it eliminates the section of the rule which states that a telemedicine vendor of a patient completing a medical history online and forwarding it to a physician does not qualify as store and forward technology. |
| Arkansas | 060.00.17 | 10/6/17: Rule Adoption | Title: Physician Assistants
Agency: Medical Board Amends rules to add physician assistants to the practice of telemedicine and to prohibit prescriptions for marijuana by telemedicine assessment. |
| Mississippi | Part 2635 | 8/15/17: Adopted Rule Correction
Effective: 9/14/17 |
Title: Practice of Medicine
Agency: Board of Medical Licensure Amends MS policy regarding out of state physicians, eliminating the exception that when evaluation, treatment and or/medicine by a physician outside of MS is requested by a physician licensed in MS, and that physician has already established a doctor/physician relationship with the patient, that a MS license is not required by the out of state provider. Adds that the interpretation of clinical laboratory studies as well as pathology and histopathology studies performed by physicians without Mississippi licensure is not the practice of telemedicine provided a Mississippi licensed physician is responsible for accepting, rejecting, or modifying the interpretation. The Mississippi licensed physician must maintain exclusive control over any subsequent therapy or additional diagnostics. |
| Mississippi | Title 20, Part 2 | 5/15/17: Rule Adopted
Effective: 6/14/17 |
Title: Workers Compensation Medical Fee Schedule
Agency: Workers’ Compensation Commission Amends rules pertaining to Workers’ Compensation Medical Fee Schedule to add the recently developed Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Commission Guidelines for the Prescription of Opiates into the schedule. Specifically, it provides a definition of telemedicine and tele-emergency and sets parameters around out-of-state providers utilizing telemedicine. |
