Bill Summary – FastDemocracy

2021R2624
WEST VIRGINIA LEGISLATURE
REGULAR SESSION
               Introduced House Bill 2880
        BY DELEGATES YOUNG AND J. PACK
   [Introduced March 03, 2021; Referred to the Committee on Health and Human Resources]
     Intr HB                                                                                    2021R2624
  A BILL to amend and reenact §33-57-1 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating
            accessibility of telehealth and telemedicine by persons with disabilities.
     Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
     ARTICLE 57. REQUIRED COVERAGE FOR HEALTH INSURANCE.
     §33-57-1. Coverage of telehealth services.
            (a) The following terms are defined:
            (1) “Distant site” means the telehealth site where the health care practitioner is seeing the
  patient at a distance or consulting with a patient’s health care practitioner.
            (2) “Health care practitioner” means a person licensed under §30-1-1 et seq. of this code
  who provides health care services.
            (3) “Originating site” means the location where the patient is located, whether or not
  accompanied by a health care practitioner, at the time services are provided by a health care
  practitioner through telehealth, including, but not limited to, a health care practitioner’s office,
  hospital, critical access hospital, rural health clinic, federally qualified health center, a patient’s
 home, and other nonmedical environments such as school-based health centers, university-
 based health centers, or the work location of a patient.
           (4) “Remote patient monitoring services” means the delivery of home health services
 using telecommunications technology to enhance the delivery of home health care, including
 monitoring of clinical patient data such as weight, blood pressure, pulse, pulse oximetry, blood
 glucose, and other condition-specific data; medication adherence monitoring; and interactive
 video conferencing with or without digital image upload.
           (5)   “Telehealth services”   means the use of   synchronous or   asynchronous
 telecommunications technology by a health care practitioner to provide health care services,
 including, but not limited to, assessment, diagnosis, consultation, treatment, and monitoring of a
 patient; transfer of medical data; patient and professional health-related education; public health
 services; and health administration. The term does not include audio-only telephone calls, e-mail
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     Intr HB                                                                                   2021R2624
 messages, or facsimile transmissions.
           (b) Notwithstanding the provisions of §33-1-1 et seq. of this code, an insurer subject to
 §33-15-1 et seq., §33-16-1 et seq., §33-24-1 et seq., §33-25-1 et seq., and §33-25A-1 et seq. of
 this code which issues or renews a health insurance policy on or after July 1, 2020, shall provide
 coverage of health care services provided through telehealth services if those same services are
 covered through face-to-face consultation by the policy.
           (c) An insurer subject to §33-15-1 et seq., §33-16-1 et seq., §33-24-1 et seq., §33-25-1 et
 seq., and §33-25A-1 et seq. of this code which issues or renews a health insurance policy on or
 after July 1, 2020, may not exclude a service for coverage solely because the service is provided
 through telehealth services.
           (d) An insurer subject to §33-15-1 et seq., §33-16-1 et seq., §33-24-1 et seq., §33-25-1 et
 seq., and §33-25A-1 et seq., of this code shall provide reimbursement for a telehealth service at
 a rate negotiated between the provider and the insurance company.
           (e) An insurer subject to §33-15-1 et seq., §33-16-1 et seq., §33-24-1 et seq., §33-25-1 et
 seq., and §33-25A-1 et seq. of this code may not impose any annual or lifetime dollar maximum
 on coverage for telehealth services other than an annual or lifetime dollar maximum that applies
 in the aggregate to all items and services covered under the policy, or impose upon any person
 receiving benefits pursuant to this section any copayment, coinsurance, or deductible amounts,
 or any policy year, calendar year, lifetime, or other durational benefit limitation or maximum for
 benefits or services, that is not equally imposed upon all terms and services covered under the
 policy, contract, or plan.
           (f) An originating site may charge an insurer subject to §33-15-1 et seq., §33-16-1 et seq.,
 §33-24-1 et seq., §33-25-1 et seq., and §33-25A-1 et seq. of this code a site fee.
           (g) The coverage required by this section shall include the use of telehealth technologies
 as it pertains to medically necessary remote patient monitoring services to the full extent that
 those services are available.
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     Intr HB                                                                                           2021R2624
           (h) Telemedicine and telehealth systems shall include accessible communication features
 to facilitate the use of telemedicine and telehealth by individuals with a disability and individuals
 with a sensory impairment, including, but not limited to, individuals who are deaf, hard of hearing,
 visually impaired, blind, or deaf-blind.
               NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to require accessible communication features to facilitate the use of telemedicine and telehealth by individuals with a disability.
               Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from a heading or the present law and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.
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Statutes affected: 
Introduced Version: 33-57-1