Iowa governor Kim Reynolds recently signed a bill that will require health insurance to cover telehealth services to the same extent as comparable services not offered by telehealth into law. The law takes effect January 1, 2019 and will affect any insurance policy delivered, issued or reissued after that date.
Since this law (passed under HF 2305) requires telehealth services to be covered in the same way in-person services are, it will open up the opportunity for many people in rural areas to receive a quality of care that may have been inaccessible to them through in-person health care services (link to article on rural telehealth). The law will also allow people to choose between in-person care and telemedicine. The law does not apply to certain types of health insurance.
This law brings the total number of states with similar laws to 35.
To find out more, visit https://www.healthcarelawtoday.com/2018/04/23/iowas-new-telehealth-law-what-you-need-to-know.
Katherine Hartner is Encounter Telehealth’s Social Media and Marketing Intern. She is studying journalism, with a concentration in PR and advertising, at UNO. She has written multiple articles for the Gateway, UNO’s student-run newspaper, and is active with MavRadio, UNO’s college radio station. In her free time, she enjoys writing fiction, gardening, and volunteering.
