Amendment #127 to H4617

Expanding Telemedicine Services

Representatives Scibak of South Hadley, Pignatelli of Lenox, Vargas of Haverhill, Connolly of Cambridge, Crocker of Barnstable, Decker of Cambridge, Diehl of Whitman, Frost of Auburn, Gifford of Wareham, Hill of Ipswich, Jones of North Reading, Khan of Newton, Kuros of Uxbridge, Livingstone of Boston, Malia of Boston, McKenna of Webster, McMurtry of Dedham, Muradian of Grafton, Orrall of Lakeville, Poirier of North Attleborough, Rogers of Cambridge, Smizik of Brookline, Smola of Warren, Straus of Mattapoisett and Ultrino of Malden move to amend the bill in Section 50, in line 1095, by striking the word “interactive” and inserting in place thereof the words: “synchronous or asynchronous”; and in the same section, in line 1102 by inserting after the word “telemedicine.” the following: “Health care services delivered by way of telemedicine shall be covered to the same extent as if they were provided via in-person consultation or in-person delivery.”; and in section 69, in line 1584 by striking the word “interactive” and inserting in place thereof the words: “synchronous or asynchronous”; and in section 74, in line 1620, by striking the word “interactive” and inserting in place thereof the words “synchronous or asynchronous”; and in the same section, in line 1625, by striking the word “may” and inserting in place thereof the word: “shall”; and in the same section, in line 1628, by inserting after the word “telemedicine.”, the following: “Health care services delivered by way of telemedicine shall be covered to the same extent as if they were provided via in-person consultation or in-person delivery.”;  and in section 76, in line 1712, by striking the word “interactive” and inserting in place thereof the words “synchronous or asynchronous”; and in the same section, in line 1722, by inserting after the word “telemedicine.” the following: “Health care services delivered by way of telemedicine shall be covered to the same extent as if they were provided via in-person consultation or in-person delivery.”; and in section 79, in line 1783, by striking the word “interactive” and inserting in place thereof the words: “synchronous or asynchronous”; and in the same section, in line 1791, by inserting after the word “telemedicine.” the following: “Health care services delivered by way of telemedicine shall be covered to the same extent as if they were provided via in-person consultation or in-person delivery.”; and in section 81, in line 1868, by striking the word “interactive” and inserting in place thereof the words “synchronous or asynchronous”; and in the same section, in line 1875, by inserting after the word “telemedicine.” the following: “Health care services delivered by way of telemedicine shall be covered to the same extent as if they were provided via in-person consultation or in-person delivery.”; and in section 84, in line 1941, by striking the word “interactive” and inserting in place thereof the words: “synchronous or asynchronous”; and in the same section, in line 1948 by inserting after the word “telemedicine.” the following: “Health care services delivered by way of telemedicine shall be covered to the same extent as if they were provided via in-person consultation or in-person delivery.”; and in section 86, in line 2007, by striking the word “interactive” and inserting in place thereof the words “synchronous or asynchronous”; and in the same section, in line 2014 by inserting after the word “telemedicine.” the following: “Health care services delivered by way of telemedicine shall be covered to the same extent as if they were provided via in-person consultation or in-person delivery.”; and by inserting at the end of the bill the following new section:

SECTION XXXX. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the department of public health and the office of consumer affairs and business regulation shall allow licensees to obtain proxy credentialing and privileging for telemedicine services with other healthcare providers, as defined in section 1 of chapter 111 of the General Laws or facilities that comply with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ conditions of participation for telemedicine services.

For the purposes of this section, “telemedicine” shall mean the use of synchronous or asynchronous audio, video or other electronic media for diagnosis, consultation and treatment of a patient’s physical, oral or mental health; provided, however, that “telemedicine” shall not include audio-only telephone, facsimile machine, online questionnaires, texting or text-only email.