Trending in Telehealth highlights monthly state legislative and regulatory developments that impact the healthcare providers, telehealth and digital health companies, pharmacists and technology companies that deliver and facilitate the delivery of virtual care.
Trending in November:
- Telehealth expansion
- Teledentistry
- Veterinary telemedicine
- Mental and behavioral health
A CLOSER LOOK
Proposed Legislation & Rulemaking
- Alaska proposed a rule to move the telemedicine business registry provisions from the centralized professional licensing regulations to the business license regulations and to combine the application for the general business licenses and the telemedicine business registration.
- Arkansas proposed a rule that would amend the Arkansas Medicaid Personal Care and Independent Assessment Manuals to clarify that personal care services provided by telehealth are not covered by Arkansas Medicaid and that reassessments of a functional needs Independent Assessment can be performed via telehealth.
- The Florida Board of Clinical Laboratory Personnel issued a notice of development of rulemaking to update disciplinary guidelines regarding patient overpayments and refunds to include telehealth registrants. The new rule would go into effect on January 1, 2026.
- In Michigan, the first chamber passed HB 4220 which would require veterinarians to establish a veterinarian-client-patient relationship before practicing veterinary medicine on an animal. This relationship requires veterinarians to obtain current knowledge of the animal, either through in-person examinations, telehealth, or visits to where the animal is kept. Telehealth examinations have specific limitations, particularly for non-companion animals and situations involving controlled substances, which require in-person examinations. The veterinarian may only prescribe a limited supply of medication following a telehealth visit, with certain conditions needing an in-person follow-up.
- Nevada proposed a revised rule related to teledentistry. The regulation would set detailed requirements for dental care provided via teledentistry, including prescribing conditions, collaboration protocols, and supervision procedures.
- New Mexico’s Board of Examiners for Occupational Therapy proposed a rule to clarify that the New Mexico Telehealth Act does not alter supervision requirements for occupational therapy assistants.
- Ohio proposed a rule that would amend the Ohio Medicaid telehealth regulations to add doulas and certified lactation specialists to the list of eligible providers, remove hospice aides, private duty registered nurses, and private duty licensed practical nurses in a hospice setting from the list of eligible providers, and add various services to the list of services eligible for payment including doula services, nurse home visiting services, individual counseling for PreP, and services that have a code description including a telehealth component and are covered in an Ohio Medicaid program fee schedule. The proposed regulation would also require a rendering provider’s NPI for professional claims for telehealth services and would remove expired COVID-19 language from the regulation.
Finalized Legislation & Rulemaking Activity
- In Louisiana, the Licensed Professional Counselors Board of Examiners adopted a final rule that allows licensed counselors or therapists from other states to register to provide mental health counseling services via telehealth if their license is unencumbered.
- A final rule in Oregon revised to the circumstances under which a veterinarian may utilize veterinary telemedicine prior to a physical exam for an aggressive or fractious patient and to simplify the language within the rule that allows a certified veterinary technician to provide veterinary telemedicine with a valid vet-client-patient relationship.
- Texas adopted a final rule that specifies the informed consent documentation that is required when performing teledentistry.
Why it matters:
- State regulation of telehealth across licensed healthcare professions continues to mature. States continue to formalize the provision of telehealth across professions including veterinary medicine and dentistry. November saw both proposed and finalized rulemaking and legislation regulating the provision of telehealth in these professions with an emphasis on informed consent, prescribing limitations, and supervision requirements.
- State reimbursement of telehealth services for Medicaid patients continues to fluctuate. While Arkansas proposed a rule that would make clear personal care services delivered via telehealth, Ohio proposed a rule that would broaden telehealth reimbursement to support maternal health, preventive care, and home-based services.
Telehealth is an important development in care delivery, but the regulatory patchwork is complicated. The McDermott Will & Schulte Digital Health team works alongside the industry’s leading providers, payors, and technology innovators to help them enter new markets, break down barriers to delivering accessible care, and mitigate enforcement risk through proactive compliance.
