California Bill Seeks Medicaid Coverage for Telehealth in FQHCs, RHCs

A California legislator has submitted a bill seeking to improve Medicaid coverage for telehealth services used by federally qualified health centers and rural health clinics.

AB 2007, submitted this week by State Assemblyman Rudy Salas, would allow these care providers to use telehealth – both audio-video and asynchronous platforms – without the requirement that patient and provider first meet in person. It would also instruct the state’s Medi-Cal program to reimburse providers for those services.

It comes just days after a similar bill was introduced in Colorado, and marks a growing trend to enable FQHCs and RHCs to use telehealth and mHealth to improve access to care for underserved populations.

“Telemedicine helps connect Medicaid enrollees to health care providers through live video and audio, enabling enrollees to receive the care and consultation they need without traveling to visit a provider in another city or area of the state,” that bill stated. “Telemedicine visits can lead to cost savings for the Medicaid system by improving access to primary care and helping to avoid unnecessary trips to emergency departments.”

There are roughly 4,400 CMS-certified RHCs and 8,400 CMS-certified FQHCs in the US, many focused on providing primary and specialty care to those on Medicare or Medicaid, as well as people who don’t have any insurance. Telehealth advocates have long fought to ease Medicare restrictions on telehealth use and coverage to enable these clinics to use connected health more frequently to both treat patients and consult with other care providers.