COMP NEWS – As telehealth gains popularity, many are wondering how traditional health services will be affected. One of the areas of discussion is in regards to compensation differences between telehealth providers and their traditional, in-person counterparts. This has led to conversations about pay parity between the industries in a recent Kansas telemedicine panel.
While no formal bill was filed to ensure payment parity, the issue was discussed. The issue did not go further amid disputes between providers and insurers, the latter of whom questioned the fiscal impact of such a move. Shawna Wright, associate director of the University of Kansas Center for Telemedicine & Telehealth, suggested a study of what expenses are involved in telehealth and what makes it more or less expensive.
“There are so many costs that I think that we need to research, and be fair with telehealth not to incentivize the use of telehealth and also not to de-incentivize the use of telehealth,” Wright said. “We haven’t really studied those cost elements to figure out how to make it a viable option here in Kansas without trying to tip the scales one way or the other.”
Telehealth proponents point to the additional ease and propensity of use that virtual appointments provide. Furthermore, they are concerned that a lack of pay parity could lead to reduced access to telehealth.
Efforts in past years at the Capitol have resulted in coverage parity — a requirement that the same services be covered via telehealth as would be covered if delivered in-person — but payment parity fizzled partly because health insurers opposed such measures. They said the effects of this sort of parity on the health insurance market would not be positive.
Instead, health insurance lobbyists argued rate negotiations should be left between insurer and provider.
The fight for pay parity is certainly an uphill battle, as cost differences between the two forms of treatment have proven difficult to measure, and insurance providers stand in staunch opposition.
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