Beazley Introduces Digital Map to Navigate Telehealth Regulatory Landscape

Specialist insurer Beazley is now offering the telehealth sector a new tool designed to help navigate the complex digital health regulatory landscape. In partnership with law firm BakerHostetler, specialist insurer Beazley has created a multi-layered interactive digital map that provides detailed information on the state-by-state laws governing the provision of telehealth services across the United States.

Using up-to-date research and data points, the map highlights regional variances in legislation and guidelines to help brokers and telehealth professionals to navigate the complexities of providing cross-state remote healthcare services.

The digital map includes data points on all 50 states including the following:

• Who can be a telehealth provider;
• Practice standards;
• Licensure requirements;
• Accepted modalities (audio, video, mobile);
• Excluded services;
• Additional reimbursement potential;
• Potential COVID-19 waivers; and
• Existence of active patient compensation funds.

The map will be refreshed to reflect changes to the regulatory landscape, which has evolved more rapidly since the start of the pandemic as state regulators responded to the surge in demand and need for remote healthcare.

The map is accessible via Beazley’s website and Virtual Care customer portal, in addition to existing risk management advice and information for digital health clients and brokers.

Also now available via the Virtual Care customer portal exclusively for clients and brokers, are credentialing and re-credentialing checklists designed to help telehealth professionals remain compliant and in the strongest position to mitigate and defend against claims.

These documents enable telehealth providers to ensure all processing of newly employed or prospective employees, physicians and other level practitioners meets compliance requirements thus reducing the risk of professional liability or malpractice claims. According to Beazley’s Spotlight on: digital health and wellness report, the ability to recruit and check the credentials of practitioners sits alongside economic uncertainty as the business risk that industry leaders in the US are most concerned about.

“Regulations around telehealth continue to shift as the sector matures and patient demand changes,” said Jennifer Schoenthal, Beazley Virtual Care Global Product Leader, in a statement. “The pandemic has created more layers of complexity as state and federal law have responded to meet demand for telehealth services. These include the temporary relaxation of HIPAA rules to facilitate remote consultations, relaxation on licensing laws to allow providers to operate in and across multiple states, and increased reimbursement potential.”

This shifting regulatory landscape has the potential to create significant risk, she said. “The telehealth sector is experiencing strong growth; we want to ensure we provide the insurance and risk management these businesses need to realize their potential.”

Lynn Sessions, partner at BakerHostetler, said: “Our interactive map is intended to help the healthcare, insurance and legal communities to understand how one state differs from another in defining and regulating telemedicine, a form of healthcare that has experienced extremely rapid growth as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The regulatory map is now available on the Beazley website at: https://www.beazley.com/beazley_academy/interactive_map.html

Source: Beazley

Topics Legislation