Bill would permit use of telehealth treatment for veterans across state lines

A bill that seeks to eliminate current restrictions by permitting VA clinicians to treat veterans through telehealth treatment, regardless of location, is gaining momentum in Congress.

Under the present law, VA physicians can just waive state licensing requirements and give telehealth treatment across state lines if both the veteran and the doctor are situated in a federally owned facility. Although, the Veterans E-Health & Telemedicine Support (VETS) Act of 2017 removes these obstacles and would permit VA health professionals to practice telehealth across state lines, as long as they are qualified and practice within the significance of their authorized federal duties.

Additionally, under provisions of the VETS Act, veterans would no longer be needed to travel to a VA facility and rather could get telemedicine treatment from any location, involving their home or a community center.

The bill was launched this week in the House of Representatives by Reps. Julia Brownley (D-Calif.) and Glenn Thompson (R-Penn.). A companion bill was introduced in the Senate by Sens. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) and Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii).

“The VA has seen huge growth and interest in telehealth treatment, and we should continue to seek new ways to link veterans with the providers that they need, no matter their physical location,” stated Brownley in a written statement. “The VETS Act will boost veterans with more options and greater access to the care that they have earned and deserve.”

The proposed legislation has got support from industry groups, involving the American Telemedicine Association and Health IT Now.

“The VETS Act takes commonsense steps to eliminating artificial barriers standing in the way of veterans’ access to healthcare,” stated Joel White, executive director of Health IT Now. “Reps. Thompson and Brownley and Senators Hirono and Ernst rightly identify how technology and telehealth can alleviate geographic burdens on both sufferers and providers.”

For its part, ATA sent a letter in late March to VETS Act co-sponsor Senator Ernst, expressing the strong support of group for the bill, which—among other provisions—would develop a state licensure exemption to permit VA-credentialed healthcare experts to work across state lines to perform telemedicine without having to gain a new license in that state.

“This will permit a VA health professional to serve a veteran with a single state license,” wrote Jonathan Linkous, the ATA’s chief executive officer. “In the year of 2011, Congress, without opposition, provided comparable statutory authority to the Department of Defense for health providers and sufferers. We supported that legislation and have supported comparable authority for the Department of Veterans Affairs and other federal healthcare since then.”