215 ILCS 5/356z.22

(215 ILCS 5/356z.22)

Sec. 356z.22. Coverage for telehealth services.

(a) For purposes of this Section:

"Asynchronous store and forward system" has the meaning given to that term in Section 5 of the Telehealth Act.

"Distant site" has the meaning given to that term in Section 5 of the Telehealth Act.

"E-visits" has the meaning given to that term in Section 5 of the Telehealth Act.

"Facility" means any hospital facility licensed under the Hospital Licensing Act or the University of Illinois Hospital Act, a federally qualified health center, a community mental health center, a behavioral health clinic, a substance use disorder treatment program licensed by the Division of Substance Use Prevention and Recovery of the Department of Human Services, or other building, place, or institution that is owned or operated by a person that is licensed or otherwise authorized to deliver health care services.

"Health care professional" has the meaning given to that term in Section 5 of the Telehealth Act.

"Interactive telecommunications system" has the meaning given to that term in Section 5 of the Telehealth Act. As used in this Section, "interactive telecommunications system" does not include virtual check-ins.

"Originating site" has the meaning given to that term in Section 5 of the Telehealth Act.

"Telehealth services" has the meaning given to that term in Section 5 of the Telehealth Act. As used in this Section, "telehealth services" do not include asynchronous store and forward systems, remote patient monitoring technologies, e-visits, or virtual check-ins.

"Virtual check-in" has the meaning given to that term in Section 5 of the Telehealth Act.

(b) An individual or group policy of accident or health insurance that is amended, delivered, issued, or renewed on or after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 102nd General Assembly shall cover telehealth services, e-visits, and virtual check-ins rendered by a health care professional when clinically appropriate and medically necessary to insureds, enrollees, and members in the same manner as any other benefits covered under the policy. An individual or group policy of accident or health insurance may provide reimbursement to a facility that serves as the originating site at the time a telehealth service is rendered.

(c) To ensure telehealth service, e-visit, and virtual check-in access is equitable for all patients in receipt of health care services under this Section and health care professionals and facilities are able to deliver medically necessary services that can be appropriately delivered via telehealth within the scope of their licensure or certification, coverage required under this Section shall comply with all of the following:

(1) An individual or group policy of accident or health insurance shall not:

(A) require that in-person contact occur between a health care professional and a patient before the provision of a telehealth service;

(B) require patients, health care professionals, or facilities to prove or document a hardship or access barrier to an in-person consultation for coverage and reimbursement of telehealth services, e-visits, or virtual check-ins;

(C) require the use of telehealth services, e-visits, or virtual check-ins when the health care professional has determined that it is not appropriate;

(D) require the use of telehealth services when a patient chooses an in-person consultation;

(E) require a health care professional to be physically present in the same room as the patient at the originating site, unless deemed medically necessary by the health care professional providing the telehealth service;

(F) create geographic or facility restrictions or requirements for telehealth services, e-visits, or virtual check-ins;

(G) require health care professionals or facilities to offer or provide telehealth services, e-visits, or virtual check-ins;

(H) require patients to use telehealth services, e-visits, or virtual check-ins, or require patients to use a separate panel of health care professionals or facilities to receive telehealth service, e-visit, or virtual check-in coverage and reimbursement; or

(I) impose upon telehealth services, e-visits, or virtual check-ins utilization review requirements that are unnecessary, duplicative, or unwarranted or impose any treatment limitations, prior authorization, documentation, or recordkeeping requirements that are more stringent than the requirements applicable to the same health care service when rendered in-person, except procedure code modifiers may be required to document telehealth.

(2) Deductibles, copayments, coinsurance, or any other cost-sharing applicable to services provided through telehealth shall not exceed the deductibles, copayments, coinsurance, or any other cost-sharing required by the individual or group policy of accident or health insurance for the same services provided through in-person consultation.

(3) An individual or group policy of accident or health insurance shall notify health care professionals and facilities of any instructions necessary to facilitate billing for telehealth services, e-visits, and virtual check-ins.

(d) For purposes of reimbursement, an individual or group policy of accident or health insurance that is amended, delivered, issued, or renewed on or after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 102nd General Assembly shall reimburse an in-network health care professional or facility, including a health care professional or facility in a tiered network, for telehealth services provided through an interactive telecommunications system on the same basis, in the same manner, and at the same reimbursement rate that would apply to the services if the services had been delivered via an in-person encounter by an in-network or tiered network health care professional or facility. This subsection applies only to those services provided by telehealth that may otherwise be billed as an in-person service. This subsection is inoperative on and after January 1, 2028, except that this subsection is operative after that date with respect to mental health and substance use disorder telehealth services.

(e) The Department and the Department of Public Health shall commission a report to the General Assembly administered by an established medical college in this State wherein supervised clinical training takes place at an affiliated institution that uses telehealth services, subject to appropriation. The report shall study the telehealth coverage and reimbursement policies established in subsections (b) and (d) of this Section, to determine if the policies improve access to care, reduce health disparities, promote health equity, have an impact on utilization and cost-avoidance, including direct or indirect cost savings to the patient, and to provide any recommendations for telehealth access expansion in the future. An individual or group policy of accident or health insurance shall provide data necessary to carry out the requirements of this subsection upon request of the Department. The Department and the Department of Public Health shall submit the report by December 31, 2026. The established medical college may utilize subject matter expertise to complete any necessary actuarial analysis.

(f) Nothing in this Section is intended to limit the ability of an individual or group policy of accident or health insurance and a health care professional or facility to voluntarily negotiate alternate reimbursement rates for telehealth services. Such voluntary negotiations shall take into consideration the ongoing investment necessary to ensure these telehealth platforms may be continuously maintained, seamlessly updated, and integrated with a patient's electronic medical records.

(g) An individual or group policy of accident or health insurance that is amended, delivered, issued, or renewed on or after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 102nd General Assembly shall provide coverage for telehealth services for licensed dietitian nutritionists and certified diabetes educators who counsel diabetes patients in the diabetes patients' homes to remove the hurdle of transportation for diabetes patients to receive treatment, in accordance with the Dietitian Nutritionist Practice Act.

(h) Any policy, contract, or certificate of health insurance coverage that does not distinguish between in-network and out-of-network health care professionals and facilities shall be subject to this Section as though all health care professionals and facilities were in-network.

(i) Health care professionals and facilities shall determine the appropriateness of specific sites, technology platforms, and technology vendors for a telehealth service, as long as delivered services adhere to all federal and State privacy, security, and confidentiality laws, rules, or regulations, including, but not limited to, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 and the Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities Confidentiality Act.

(j) Nothing in this Section shall be deemed as precluding a health insurer from providing benefits for other telehealth services, including, but not limited to, services not required for coverage provided through an asynchronous store and forward system, remote patient monitoring services, other monitoring services, or oral communications otherwise covered under the policy.

(k) There shall be no restrictions on originating site requirements for telehealth coverage or reimbursement to the distant site under this Section other than requiring the telehealth services to be medically necessary and clinically appropriate.

(l) The Department may adopt rules, including emergency rules subject to the provisions of Section 5-45 of the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act, to implement the provisions of this Section.

(Source: P.A. 102-104, eff. 7-22-21.)