Telehealth access, ease of service varies by state

A new report offers recommended best practices such as supporting provider access to telehealth and not limiting provider tools.

As millions of patients tried telehealth for the first time during the past two years, federal officials and governors temporarily lifted restrictions that limited their access to virtual care. But many of these restrictions on such practices as speaking with doctors across state lines, recording voice messages with care instructions, and mandating insurance coverage have been reinstated at the state level.

A new joint report from Reason Foundation, The Cicero Institute, and Pioneer Institute breaks down the disparities by rating every state’s telehealth policy for patient access and ease of providing virtual care. Nationally, according to the report, several states hardest hit by the pandemic have the most restrictive telehealth laws — including New York, California, and Connecticut, which have not signed up for interstate licensing compacts and have coverage parity mandates that offer no flexibility between insurer and provider.