Bill > S3855

This bill revises reimbursement policies for telemedicine and telehealth services across multiple New Jersey health insurance programs, including private carriers, Medicaid, NJ FamilyCare, State Health Benefits, and School Employees' Health Benefits. The key change is that health insurance carriers must now reimburse providers for telemedicine and telehealth services at the same rate as in-person services, instead of the previous requirement that reimbursement not exceed in-person rates. The bill maintains several important protections, such as prohibiting additional restrictions on telehealth platforms, ensuring patient privacy, allowing various communication methods (including audio-only calls), and preventing insurers from limiting coverage only to specific telehealth organizations. Importantly, the bill does not require patients to use telehealth instead of in-person care and allows insurers to only cover medically necessary services. The new rules apply to a wide range of healthcare services, but explicitly do not apply to telemedicine organizations that do not provide in-person services in New Jersey. The legislation takes effect immediately and will apply to reimbursement requests made on or after the date of enactment.

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https://www.njleg.state.nj.us/bill-search/2024/S3855