In recognition of Telehealth Awareness Week, The Council of State Governments joins the American Telemedicine Association to highlight a national need for consistent, quality care for patients in both in-person and virtual settings. Observed Sept. 17-23, participation in this year’s third annual event is encouraged by telehealth providers, hospitals, medical practices, advocates, policymakers and other stakeholders.
Concurrent with Telehealth Awareness Week, an ATA Action meeting was held Sept. 18-19 in Washington, D.C., with members of Congress discussing federal virtual care policies and issues impacting access to telehealth services.
Leaders at the state level have also been active in supporting telehealth legislation. Since Telehealth Awareness Week’s launch in 2021, temporary orders implemented as result of the COVID-19 pandemic have transitioned telehealth into permanently enacted measures for many states. Actions at the state level include reducing regulations associated with telehealth, and allowing in- and out-of-state practitioners to deliver telehealth services.
A detailed look at legislation addressing telehealth that has already been enacted or currently under review can be found below for 2022 and 2023.
2023 Telehealth State Legislation
| State | Legislation | Status | Summary |
| California | AB 1241 | Signed by the governor on Sept. 8, 2023. | Authorizes telehealth providers to meet Medi-Cal in-person referral requirements by maintaining protocols for patient referral to appropriate in-person care, when the standard of care cannot be met by video synchronous interaction or audio-only synchronous interaction. |
| California | AB 232 | Enrolled on Sept. 11, 2023. | Extends authorization for a person who holds a license in another state as a marriage and family therapist, clinical social worker or professional clinical counselor to provide services in the state for a period not to exceed 30 consecutive days in any calendar year if certain conditions are met. |
| California | AB 1369 | Enrolled on Sept. 11, 2023. | Known as the David Hall Act, the bill allows a person licensed and in good standing as a physician and surgeon in another state would be authorized to deliver health care via telehealth to a patient who has a disease or condition that is immediately life-threatening and meets other statutory requirements for care. |
| Connecticut | SB 3 | Signed by the governor June 26, 2023. | This legislation establishes standards concerning consumer health data and prohibits geofencing of certain health data among other provisions, among other actions. |
| District of Columbia | B 25-125 | Notice of Intent to Act on B25-0125. Published in the District of Columbia Register. Referred to Committee on Health on Feb. 24. 2023. | As introduced Bill 25-125 would provide that licensed health practitioner in the District may provide health care through telehealth. It also expands the circumstances under which qualified our -of -state practitioners are permitted to deliver telehealth services to patients located in the District. |
| Florida | HB 267 | Approved by the governor on May 11, 2023. | Modifies the definition of telehealth to allow audio-only phone calls as a permitted telehealth modality. |
| Florida | SB 264 | Signed by the governor on May 8, 2023. | A health care provider that utilizes certified electronic health record technology must ensure that all patient information stored in an offsite physical or virtual environment is physically maintained in the continental United States or its territories or Canada. |
| Hawaii | HB 907 | Transmitted to the governor on May 3, 2023. | Clarifies that telehealth services provided by way of an interactive telecommunications system can be temporarily reimbursed to comply with Federal guidelines. |
| Idaho | HB 61 | Signed by the governor on March 27, 2023. | Adopts Interstate telehealth licensure for mental and behavioral health. |
| Idaho | HB 162 | Signed by the governor on March 21, 2023. | Clarifies a prescriber-patient relationship can be established for the purposes of prescribing via telehealth. The bill also allows for cross-state practice without an Idaho license in certain circumstances. |
| Illinois | SB 48 | Re-referred to Assignments on March 31, 2023. | Amends the Medical Assistance Article of the Illinois Public Aid Code, specifically on issues of vendor enrollment. |
| Indiana | HB 1352 | Signed by the governor on May 4, 2023. | Beginning Jan. 1, 2024, the office of Medicaid policy and planning may not require a licensed provider offering telehealth services to maintain an address in the state or that a telehealth provider group licensed in the state have an in-state address to be eligible for enrollment as a Medicaid vendor or Medicaid provider group. |
| Kentucky | HB 311 | Signed by the governor on April 6, 2023. | Prohibits the Department for Medicaid Services and any Medicaid managed care organization from requiring health professionals or medical groups exclusively offering telehealth services to maintain a physical location or address in Kentucky to be eligible for enrollment as a Medicaid provider. |
| Louisiana | SB 66 | Signed by the governor on June 12, 2023.Effective Jan. 1, 2024. | Amends and re-enacts provisions relative to telemedicine, namely by using “telehealth” as conforming language. The bill specifies that telehealth includes a physician’s practice of medicine when conducted through electronic communications. State agencies are now required to promulgate telehealth rules. Any in-person requirement physical examination or patient history before engaging in telehealth is alleviated, unless the provider is prescribing a controlled dangerous substance. |
| Maryland | SB 534 | Signed by the governor on May 3, 2023. | Extends the classification of certain audio-only telephone conversations under the definition of “telehealth” to June 30, 2025, because of reimbursement and coverage of telehealth requirements by the Maryland Medical Assistance Program and certain insurers, nonprofit health service plans and health maintenance organizations. |
| Nevada | SB 119 | Approved by the governor on May 29, 2023. | Removes the sunset for the requirement of third-party payer who is not an industrial insurer to cover services provided through telehealth. |
| Nevada | SB 370 | Signed by governor on June 16, 2023. | Revises provisions relating to consumer health data. |
| New Hampshire | SB 238 | Passed Senate.To House for concurrence on May 18, 2023.Senate moved for nonconcur with House Amendment on June 1, 2023. | The bill modifies prescribing procedure for physicians, physicians assistants and APRNs in relation to non-opioid and opioid controlled drugs when utilizing telemedicine. |
| New Hampshire | HB 500 | Signed by the governor on May 12, 2023. | Amends prescribing requirements for opioids and controlled substances. Edits the definition of telemedicine under the Nursing Practice Act. Allows practitioners of telehealth medicine to prescribe opioids. Sets out the process for prescribing schedules II-V through telemedicine. |
| Oregon | SB 232 | To the governor on June 6, 2023. | The bill allows physicians or physician assistants who are out of state to provide specified care to Oregonians. |
| Rhode Island | HB 5556/SB 574 | House and Senate Committees recommended the measures be held for further study. | Adopts the Uniform Law Commission Uniform Telehealth Act. |
| Rhode Island | HB 5352/SB 965 | House Committee Meeting with proposed substitute postponed. | Amends the Telemedicine Act by adding a definition of patient provider relationship which states that the relationship may be defined by synchronous or asynchronous telemedicine technologies without a prior in-person meeting as long as the standard of care is met. |
| Tennessee | SB 680 | Signed by the governor on March 21, 2023. | Provides clarification as to the Medical Assistance Act of 1968, distinctly that the act does not require a vendor, healthcare provider or telehealth provider group providing telehealth healthcare services to have a physical address or site in Tennessee in order to be eligible to enroll as a vendor, provider or provider group for the medical assistance program. |
| Virginia | HB 1602/SB 1418 | Signed by the governor on March 21, 2023. | Health care providers are not required to maintain a physical presence in Virginia to maintain eligibility to enroll as a Medicaid provider. Under the bill, telemedicine services provider groups with health care providers licensed by the Commonwealth are not required to maintain an in-state service address to maintain eligibility to enroll as a Medicaid vendor or Medicaid provider group. |
| Washington | SB 5036 | Signed by the governor on March 30, 2023. | Extends the use of both audio and video real-time telemedicine to establish a relationship for the purpose of providing audio-only telemedicine for certain health care services. Senate companion to HB 1027. |
| Washington | HB 1155 | Signed by the governor on April 27, 2023. | Known as the Washington My Health Data Act, this bill addressed the aggregation, sharing or any similar acts of personal data. |
2022 Telehealth State Legislation
| State | Legislation | Status | Summary |
| Alabama | SB 272 | Signed by the governor in April 2022. | Provides a technology-neutral definition of telehealth; allows licensure flexibilities for providers delivering “irregular or infrequent” care and those in consultation with a licensed physician, among other requirements. |
| Alaska | HB 265 | Enrolled May 18, 2022. | Enables in-state providers to deliver telehealth services without an in-person exam if the provider’s license is in good standing and mandates that out-of-state providers not licensed in Alaska only render telehealth services to patients referred by someone licensed in Alaska. The bill also discusses prescribing opioids. |
| California | AB 32 | Approved by the governor on Sept. 25, 2022. | Amends the Welfare and Institutions Code in relation to telehealth |
| California | AB 2089 | Approved by the governor on Sept. 28, 2022. | Holds “mental health app developers” to new privacy requirements and requires mental health app developers to register with the attorney general. |
| Colorado | SB 22-007 | Signed by the governor. | The bill enacts the “Interstate Licensed Professional Counselors Compact.” |
| Colorado | SB 22-181 | Signed by the governor. | Requires the Behavioral Health Administration to create and implement a behavioral health-care provider workforce plan. |
| Delaware | HB 334 | Signed by the governor on Oct. 21, 2022. | Permits health care providers who are licensed outside of Delaware to offer telehealth and telemedicine health care services so long as a provider-patient relationship has been established; amendment renders most permissive provisions in this bill void. |
| Florida | HB 17 | Laid on the table. Substituted by SB 312. SB 312 was signed by the governor. | SB 312 amends language to prohibit telehealth providers from prescribing only Schedule II drugs except under certain circumstances. |
| Indiana | SB 251 | Signed by the governor on March 10, 2022. | Indiana adopts the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact. |
| Kentucky | HB 188 | Signed by the governor on March 3, 2022. | Prohibits regulatory boards from certain restricting licensure flexibilities. |
| Mississippi | SB 2738 | Approved by the governor on April 18, 2022. | Revises the definition of telemedicine in the insurance code. |
| New Hampshire | SB 390 | Signed by the governor on Aug. 9, 2022. | Amends the definitions of telehealth and telemedicine to include both synchronous and asynchronous technologies. The bill also enables pharmacists and physicians to establish patient-provider relationships via telemedicine. |
| South Carolina | SB 1179 | Signed by the governor on May 13, 2022. | Grants out-of-state licensure reciprocity to behavioral health providers. Social workers licensed in South Carolina are allowed to provide services via telehealth methods. |
| Tennessee | HB 2655 | Signed by the governor on April 1, 2022. | Extends the statutory provision regulating reimbursements for health care services provided during a telehealth appointment, among other things. |
| Utah | SB 151 | Signed by the governor on March 24, 2022. | Enters Utah into the Advanced Practice Registered Nurse Compact. |
| Vermont | HB 665 | Signed by the governor on May 9, 2022. | Creates a telehealth license and a telehealth registration scheme for out-of-state providers. |
| Virginia | B 369 | Approved by the governor. | Allows out-of-state physicians to care for patients in Virginia via telemedicine if such practice is for the purpose of providing continuity of care and the provider already has an established relationship with the patient. |
| Washington | HB 1821 | Signed by the governor on March 30, 2022. | Amends the definition of “established relationship” in the insurance code. |