Groups Urge Legislators to Maintain Telehealth Licensures During PHE

More than 200 organizations, including the Alliance for Connected Care, have penned a letter to governors and state legislatures urging them to maintain and expand telehealth licensure flexibilities until the federal public health emergency is lifted.

Other notable signatories of the letter include the American Telemedicine Association, AMGA, Intermountain Healthcare, and Mayo Clinic.

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit and the federal government declared a public health emergency, governors waived certain state licensures that made it easier for patients to access care. These changes let patients receive care via telehealth from providers in different states when it was urgent or when there were no available providers nearby.

The Equal Access to Care Act, which was passed in June 2020, allowed licensed providers to treat patients in any state via telehealth for up to 180 days after the end of the public health emergency.

The policies increased access to convenient care for patients; however, many states have let their COVID-19 emergencies and licensures expire even as the Delta variant continues to spread across the country.

“Health care providers have had to scramble to notify thousands of out-of-state patients that their telehealth appointments were no longer possible, and that they would have to drive across state borders to keep their appointments,” the organizations wrote.

If governors do not expand these licensures, patients will once again face barriers to care, particularly immunocompromised patients who may have to risk being exposed to COVID-19 to receive care, the signatories contended. Patients who are unable to leave their homes or live far away from the care they need will also face the consequences of the policy expirations, the organizations noted.

Patients who sought care during the pandemic while the licensures were in place may have to attend in-person visits instead if lawmakers do not expand the licensure flexibilities. Some patients have also traveled over state lines to attend telehealth visits from their car.

The organizations urged state legislators to take immediate action to ensure that patients can still access telehealth services where and when they need them.

First, the groups stressed the need for governors to maintain telehealth licensure flexibilities that allow patients to attend telehealth visits no matter their location until the end of the federal public health emergency. The groups also implored legislators to renew any licensure flexibilities that have already expired.

Second, state leaders should collaborate with healthcare professionals and experts to create new policies that address the impact that COVID-19 has had on patient care. These policies should ensure patients have increased access to care and more available options for where and how they can receive care.

Finally, the organizations urged state lawmakers to “expand their participation in health professional compacts that allow for the safe and accountable mutual recognition of health professional licensure among states.”

For example, the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact makes it easier for physicians to apply for and receive licenses from other states in order to treat more out-of-state patients.

The Alliance for Connected Care and other organizations sent a letter to policymakers back in January 2021 encouraging legislators to facilitate patient access to telehealth across state lines. Healthcare groups and providers have stressed the importance of relaxing telehealth licensing barriers to allow patients and providers to collaborate no matter what state they are in.