South Central Region – Legislative Update for February 2017

State

Bill #

Status

Summary

Arkansas

HB 1437

2/13/17: Referred to Senate Committee on Public Health, Welfare and Labor

Amends the Laws concerning telemedicine; creates the Telemedicine Act.

Arkansas

HB 1556

2/23/17: Referred to Senate Committee on Public Health, Welfare and Labor

Arkansas

SB 78

2/23/17: Referred to Senate Committee on Public Health, Welfare and Labor

Requires the AR State Medical Board to perform an analysis of the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact to determine whether the state of Arkansas should participate.

Tennessee

HB 338

2/6/17: Referred to House Committee on Insurance and Banking.

Relates to health care; adds healthcare services provided to a patient at a public elementary or secondary school to the current definition of telehealth services for which health insurance entities are required to reimburse in a manner that is consistent with reimbursement for in person encounters.

Tennessee

HB 518

2/14/17: In House Committee on Health

Requires the commissioner of health to study and report on recommendations for legislation concerning telehealth and telemedicine under existing statute. The recommendations must examine the need for improving the effective use of telemedicine and telehealth among healthcare providers and insurers.

Tennessee

HB 664

2/14/17: In House Committee on Health.

Enacts the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact.

Tennessee

SB 195

2/14/17: Referred to General Subcommittee (by Senate Committee on Commerce and Labor)

Relates to health care; adds healthcare services provided to a patient at a public elementary or secondary school to the current definition of telehealth services for which health insurance entities are required to reimburse in a manner that is consistent with reimbursement for in-person encounters.

Tennessee

SB 595

2/22/17: Referred to Senate Committee on Health and Welfare

Enacts the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact.

Tennessee

SB 601

2/9/17: Referred to Senate Committee on Commerce and Labor

Requires the commissioner of health to study and report on recommendations for legislation concerning telehealth and telemedicine under existing statute. The recommendations must examine the need for improving the effective use of telemedicine and telehealth among healthcare providers and insurers.

State

Bill #

Status

Summary

Arkansas

SB 146

2/17/17: Signed by Governor

This bill would create the Telemedicine Act; amend the definition of telemedicine and originating site; addresses requirements of a professional relationship when using telemedicine; adds standards for the appropriate use of telemedicine; address insurance coverage of telemedicine; and for other purposes.

State

Bill #

Status

Summary

Mississippi

HB 1093

1/31/17: Died

Requires the Director of Medicaid to apply to CMS for any waivers for the approval of experimental, pilot or demonstration projects that promote the objectives of providing services to eligible individuals. The waiver should, among other items, authorize the state to more extensively incorporate and encourage telemedicine options.

Mississippi

HB 318

2/28/17: Died

This bill establishes the MS Rural Hospital Transition and Improvement Grant Program. Among other elements grant monies may be used by the rural hospital to establish a telemedicine system.

Mississippi

HB 555

2/28/17: Died

Makes minor amendments to the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact language.

Mississippi

HB 861

1/31/17: Died in committee

Requires State and School Employees Health Insurance Management Board to establish a pilot program for urgent health care services using a telemedicine kiosk model managed by the University of Mississippi Medical Center.

Mississippi

HB 96

1/31/17: Died

Allows testing required under the Medicaid program, Children’s Health Insurance program and State and School Employees health Insurance Plan for illegal drugs, alcohol, hepatitis B and C, TB and sexually transmitted diseases to be covered when delivered through telemedicine.

State

Reg. Citation

Status

Summary

Arkansas

060.00.16

4/27/16: Proposed rule

Comment Deadline: 6/9/16

Title: Regulation 38

Agency: Medical Board

Establishes rule pertaining to telemedicine and the requirement for
all services provided by physicians.

Arkansas

007.05.16

6/9/16: Proposed

Comment Deadline: 7/26/16

Title: Abortion Facilities

Agency: Health Facility Services

This bill would prohibit drug induced, chemical and surgical abortions be performed by telemedicine.

Arkansas

016.06.16

6/24/16:  Proposed

Comment Deadline: 7/26/16

Title:  Rehabilitative Services for Persons with Mental Illness

Agency: Division of Medical Services

This rule would provide billing information for billing for rehabilitative services delivered through telemedicine, among other components.

Arkansas

016.06.16

11/28/16: Proposed rule

Comment Deadline: 12/30/16

Title: Telemedicine Policy

Agency: Department of Human Services, Division of Medical Services

Amends rules to update the Telemedicine policy to provide clarification of interactive audio and visual transmission of the physician patient encounter.

Mississippi

Part 2615, Ch. 1

11/21/16: Proposed

Comment Deadline: 12/16/2016

Title: Practice of Physician Assistants

Agency: Board of Medical Licensure

The rule specifies that a physician assistant may work in an emergency room without immediate supervision granted that the physician assistant has a Board approved telemedicine arrangement.  However, the
primary and/or backup supervising physician must be within 10 minutes of the physician assistant while he or she is seeing patients in the emergency room.

Mississippi

Part
2635

1/13/17: Proposed rule

Comment Deadline: 2/7/17

Title: Practice of Medicine

Agency: Board of Medical Licensure

Amends MS policy regarding out of state physicians, eliminating the exception that when evaluation, treatment and or/medicine by a physician outside of MS is requested by a physician licensed in MS, and that physician has already established a doctor/physician relationship with the patient,
that a MS license is not required by the out of state provider.  Adds that the interpretation of clinical laboratory studies as well as pathology and
histopathology studies performed by physicians without Mississippi licensure is not the practice of telemedicine provided a Mississippi licensed physician
is responsible for accepting, rejecting, or modifying the interpretation. The Mississippi licensed physician must maintain exclusive control over any
subsequent therapy or additional diagnostics.

State

Bill #

Status

Summary

Arkansas

060.00.16

Status: 12/15/16

Effective: 12/25/16

Title:  Regulation 38: Telemedicine

Agency: AR Medical Board

Amends rule concerning telemedicine to establish a requirement for physicians to provide services.  Specifically, it eliminates the section of the rule which states that a telemedicine vendor of a patient completing a medical history online and forwarding it to a physician does not qualify as store and forward technology.