Texas Governor OKs Telehealth, RPM Services, Broadband Expansion

Texas is expanding Medicaid coverage for telehealth and remote patient monitoring services and expanding broadband connectivity to rural parts of the state to, among other things, help providers expand their connected health networks.

Governor Greg Abbott signed HB 4 and HB 5 into law this week, joining more than 20 other states that have permanently expanded telehealth coverage and access beyond the coronavirus pandemic. Both bills were approved by the state’s Legislature in June.

HB 4 opens the door for Medicaid and public health plans to use connected health platforms for preventive health and wellness screenings, case management services, physical, occupational and speech therapy, nutritional counseling, assessments and behavioral health services, including those delivered by audio-only telehealth if deemed appropriate.

It also establishes reimbursement through the Medicaid managed care program for “telemonitoring services,” or RPM. And it allows for the creation of guidelines on how providers can use e-mail or text messages to communicate with patients. And it adds rural health clinics to the list of providers (which includes federally qualified health centers) who can be reimbursed for the originating site facility fee or distant site practitioner fee, or both, for services delivered via telehealth.

Finally, it allows the use of “telecommunications or information technology” in outpatient programs for substance abuse treatment, a move that would expand treatment options for people who can’t or won’t access in-person care.

“Whether you’re a rural health clinic, FQHC, a private provider, Medicaid, we really extended the benefits of telehealth and telemedicine through this bill and through bills we’ve previously passed,” State Rep. Four Price, who sponsored HB 4, told local news outlets after Abbott signed the bill.

HB 5 expands the make-up and duties of the state’s new Broadband Development Office and council, which would monitor the progress of broadband expansion in the state, identify barriers to internet access in certain communities and work to expand those resources.

Lack of broadband connectivity is a consistent barrier to the expansion of telehealth and RPM programs, particularly in rural areas and among underserved populations.

“With expanded broadband across the entire state, we will see better use of the technology to access so many things that we do every single day,” Price, a sponsor for that bill as well, said. “Job training, commerce, education, healthcare, these are just a few of the things that we rely on, reliable internet access for really to conduct the business every single day.”