Virginia Telemedicine Policy

Telemedicine in Virginia: Policies

Virginia has many of the basic protections crucial to the success of telemedicine, such as a parity law that mandates equivalent coverage for telemedicine and in-person services from private payers, Medicaid and state employee health plans. Virginia state mandates telemedicine reimbursement only when medical services are provided via live video which the AdvanaCare platform has already built in.

Coverage for telemedicine services.

A. Notwithstanding the provisions of § 38.2-3419, each insurer proposing to issue individual or group accident and sickness insurance policies providing hospital, medical and surgical, or major medical coverage on an expense-incurred basis; each corporation providing individual or group accident and sickness subscription contracts; and each health maintenance organization providing a health care plan for health care services shall provide coverage for the cost of such health care services provided through telemedicine services, as provided in this section.

Telemedicine and Telehealth in Virginia

There seems to be some confusion with the terms telemedicine and telehealth. No explicit federal definition exists that makes a distinction between them. Some states define telemedicine as strictly clinical practice, while telehealth is a broader term that includes health education and disease prevention.

Virginia officials do not differentiate between these two terms. The providers practicing in Virginia can use them as synonyms. Telemedicine does appear more often in legal documents, which implies that it is a more common word, at least among Virginians.

Reimbursement in Virginia

The parity law introduced in 2010 has been crucial for the development of telemedicine in Virginia. It mandated the coverage for telehealth services to private payers and Medicaid. The residents of the Old Dominion embraced the benefits of telemedicine, and it is one of the most popular models of practice in the state.

Virginia Telemedicine Policy § 38.2-3418.16. Coverage for telemedicine services

 

State Policy Overview

  • Medicaid
  • Private Payers
  • Parity