Facing the expiration of legislation, Gov. Ned Lamont on Sunday extended a measure allowing expanded access to telehealth.
Legislators now have until April 20 to craft a law allowing permanent expansions to telehealth — or online or telephonic access to care — which has been widely adopted by providers and patients during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Telehealth services have been necessary, as well as overwhelmingly popular during the pandemic,” Lamont said. “I am committed to working with the legislature to allow healthcare providers and patients to continue using these services beyond April 20, when this executive order will expire.”
Lamont first expanded telehealth in March of last year as COVID-19 lockdowns sharply reduced access to hospitals and other health providers. Prior to his action, insurers paid for telehealth at lower rates and providers mostly lacked the infrastructure to provide virtual services amid regulatory restrictions.
The General Assembly passed a statute codifying the expansion and requiring reimbursement parity for telehealth in July but the law was written as a temporary measure that expired today.
Insurers have objected to the use of emergency orders to impose pay parity and asked that the state undergo the usual negotiating process around reimbursement for virtual health once the pandemic crisis has passed.
