During a recent VTN webinar Senator Barbara Favola shared insight on the current state of telehealth legislation in Virginia and where the legislature could take us in the future. She is a champion of human rights and an advocate for increasing access to quality care in Virginia via telehealth.
“The General Assembly has really embraced the whole concept of telehealth,” Favola said. “Virginia has many areas where there are few primary care providers, and telehealth is a real solution for providing much needed care. We’re working toward making telehealth part of everyday practices in Virginia’s facilities that provide a range of health care services.”
Below is an overview of topics Favola discussed. A recording of the webinar is available to watch below.
Making Permanent and Extending Telehealth Flexibilities
There are numerous services under the COVID-19 Emergency Declaration that have been signed into law including:
- Medicaid and commercial insurance plans will continue to cover remote patient monitoring services.
- A person may continue seeing an out-of-state provider not licensed in Virginia for up to one year following the end of the Public Health Emergency if an in-person relationship was established first.
- SB317, passed by Favola, allows out-of-state providers to practice in the Commonwealth for 90 days, provided certain provisions are met.
This year, the General Assembly voted for Virginia to join the interstate Counseling Compact, which allows licensed professional counselors residing in a compact member state to practice in other compact member states without the need for multiple licenses.
“We expect Virginia to join 19 other compact states by January 1, 2024, and I expect it to become a nationwide effort,” Favola said. “This is a testimony to the effectiveness of telehealth in reaching so many individuals.”
Virginia’s State Telehealth Plan
In 2020, the General Assembly legislated the creation of the State Telehealth Plan by the Virginia Department of Health to promote an integrated approach to the introduction and use of telehealth services in the Commonwealth. The plan was released in February 2021 and is undergoing updates throughout 2023. VTN is partnering with VDH to collect community input that will inform enhancement of the plan and track implementation.
The plan aims to increase accessibility to care and integrate telehealth in the state’s plans for emergency medicine, behavioral health, and other specialty health areas.
What’s to Come in the Commonwealth
Additional topics Favola speaks to include:
- Virginia’s willingness to join other national compacts, including those for physician assistants.
- How to make communities and emergency services, including police and local court systems, more aware of access to available telehealth services, especially for those in need of psychiatric care.
- State level opportunities and challenges to achieve payment parity for telehealth services as compared to in-person care.
- Increase in required in-person care for prescribing controlled substances and how Virginia will respond to these changes.
To learn more from Favola about these topics, watch the recording below.
About Senator Favola
Senator Barbara Favola is a whip in the Virginia Senate Democratic Caucus and serves as chair of the Senate Women’s Health Care Caucus, among many leadership roles. Her legislative efforts related to health care are focused on women’s reproductive rights, health care access, and funding for safety net programs.
This virtual event was open to the public and free to attend. Subsequent events will be made available to attend for free to VTN members and for a small fee for nonmembers. You can find more about how to become a VTN member here.