Congress Gets Another Shot at Easing Telehealth Licensure Restrictions

Lawmakers have re-introduced a bill that would allow healthcare providers to use telehealth to treat anyone in the any state throughout the coronavirus pandemic.

The Temporary Reciprocity to Ensure Access to Treatment (TREAT) Act, filed in both the House and Senate this past week, aims to allow providers to bypass state and federal licensing requirements during the COVID-19 public health emergency and improve access to care for consumers.

“Throughout the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, telehealth is making it easier for Americans to receive needed medical attention, all without leaving their homes,” Rep. Bob Latta (R-OH), who re-filed the bill in the House with Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-MI), said in a press release. “If a health care provider is able to care for a patient remotely, they should be able to so without having to jump through regulatory hoops.”

“Allowing health care providers to treat patients wherever they live will help our health care system better adapt to the physical and mental health challenges of this pandemic,” added Senator Chris Murphy, D-CT), who re-filed the Senate version of the bill with Sen. Ropy Blunt (R-MO). “The TREAT Act eliminates bureaucratic hurdles that impede access to care without taking away any of the safeguards patients should expect. The bill is widely supported by the medical community and is one way we can support their critical work through this public health emergency.”

The bill takes aim at a persistent barrier to telehealth expansion – state licensing guidelines that hinder multi-state connected health programs – and a hot topic on Capitol Hill. It has the support of dozens of health systems and organizations, including the Alliance for Connected Care, American Hospital Association and American Medical Group Association, and comes at about the same time as the re-introduced Equal Access to Care Act, which seeks to allow providers to use telehealth to treat patients in any state for up to six months after the PHE.

Specifically, the TREAT Act would:

• Enable providers licensed in good standing to treat patients in any state during the PHE without jeopardizing the state licensure or facing penalties;
• Require them to obtain oral or written acknowledgment of services; 
• Require them to notify a state or local licensing board within 30 days of first practicing in another state;
• Prevent them from offering any service that is otherwise prohibited by a state where a patient is located and require adherence to specified prescribing requirements of the state;
• Allow states to pursue investigations and disciplinary actions, including the ability to exclude a clinician from practicing in the state under this bill;
• Not pertain to providers licensed under a compact agreement or licensed in the state where the patient resides; and
• Remain in effect through the PHE, followed by a 180-day phase-out period.

Telehealth advocates are hoping the Congress is more receptive this year to passing legislation that advances telehealth coverage and access beyond the pandemic. They’re also hoping that either Congress or the government come up with a long-term solution to the licensure issue, such as an easier path to receiving licenses in each state, licensure portability regulations or one license that would work throughout the country.