New York is now the 22nd state to pass legislation requiring that telehealth visits be reimbursed at the same rate as in-person visits.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed the bill into law last week, which is retroactive to January 1, though it’s expected to take some time for insurance companies to update their policies.

Under the law – deductibles, co-insurance or other conditions for coverage of telemedicine cannot differ from those for in-person visits. It also differentiates between telemedicine and telehealth — the former refers to real time, two-way electronic audiovisual communications; while the latter can include telephones calls, remote patient monitoring devices or other electronic means of diagnosis, consultation, education and treatment. Both are covered, but it’s not perfectly clear whether new telehealth services will be covered if they’re not already reimbursed as in-person services.

Reimbursements remain big problem for telemedicine though the landscape is shifting. One recent study found that a telehealth visit saves about $100 or more compared to the estimated cost for in-person care. Findings like these will push legislators to make it easier for people to access and providers to offer telehealth services…

[Via: FierceHealthIT]