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Hawaii Telehealth Laws & Reimbursement Policies

Medicaid Telehealth Reimbursement

Summary

Hawaii Medicaid (Med-QUEST) reimburses for live video. Although their statute prohibits HI Medicaid from placing any restrictions on originating sites, regulations creating restrictions on the types or originating site eligible for reimbursement and their geographic location still exist in Hawaii Rules.

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Definitions

“Telehealth” means the use of telecommunications services, as defined in section 269‑1, to encompass four modalities: store-and-forward technologies, remote monitoring, live consultation, and mobile health; and which shall include but not be limited to real-time video conferencing-based communication, secure interactive and non‑interactive web-based communication, and secure asynchronous information exchange, to transmit patient medical information, including diagnostic-quality digital images and laboratory results for medical interpretation and diagnosis, for the purpose of delivering enhanced health care services and information while a patient is at an originating site and the health care provider is at a distant site. Standard telephone contacts, facsimile transmissions, or e-mail text, in combination or by itself, does not constitute a telehealth service for the purposes of this section.”

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Live Video

Policy

Hawaii Medicaid is required under statute to reimburse telehealth equivalent to reimbursement for the same services provided via face-to-face contact.

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Eligible Services/Specialties

GT, GQ or 95 modifiers must be used. See Attachment A for full list of CPT codes that are “prime candidates” for telehealth services. Distant site providers should use the 02 Place of Service Code. Codes listed in Attachment A are considered prime candidates for telehealth reimbursement.

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Eligible Providers

No reference found.

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Eligible Sites

Click for a list of eligible originating sites.

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Geographic Limits

Click for a list of geographic requirements.

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Facility/Transmission Fee

No reference found.

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Store-and-Forward

Policy

Hawaii Medicaid and private payers are required to cover appropriate telehealth services (which includes store-and-forward) equivalent to reimbursement for the same services provided in-person.

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Eligible Services/Specialties

Federally Qualified Health Centers: Telemedicine-based retinal imaging and interpretation is not a covered service for PPS reimbursement. A face-to-face encounter with a member by an ophthalmologist or optometrist is eligible for PPS reimbursement, regardless of whether retinal imaging or interpretation is a component of the services provided.

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Geographic Limits

No reference found.

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Transmission Fee

No reference found.

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Remote Patient Monitoring

Policy

Hawaii Medicaid and private payers are required to cover appropriate telehealth services (which includes store-and-forward and remote patient monitoring) equivalent to reimbursement for the same services provided in-person.

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Conditions

No reference found.

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Provider Limitations

No reference found.

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Other Restrictions

No reference found.

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Email/Phone/Fax

No Reimbursement for:
• Telephone
• Facsimile machine
• Electronic mail

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Consent

No reference found.

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Out of State Providers

No reference found.

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Miscellaneous

Hawaii and Alaska are the only two states with Medicare coverage of store-and-forward services.

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Private Payer Laws

Definitions

“Telehealth” means the use of telecommunications services, as defined in section 269‑1, to encompass four modalities: store-and-forward technologies, remote monitoring, live consultation, and mobile health; and which shall include but not be limited to real-time video conferencing-based communication, secure interactive and non‑interactive web-based communication, and secure asynchronous information exchange, to transmit patient medical information, including diagnostic-quality digital images and laboratory results for medical interpretation and diagnosis, for the purpose of delivering enhanced health care services and information while a patient is at an originating site and the health care provider is at a distant site. Standard telephone contacts, facsimile transmissions, or e-mail text, in combination or by itself, does not constitute a telehealth service for the purposes of this section.”

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Requirements

Insurance plans cannot require face-to-face contact between a health provider and a patient as a prerequisite for payment for services appropriately provided through telehealth.

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Parity

Coverage may be subject to all the terms and conditions of the plan agreed upon among the enrollee or subscriber, the insurer and the health care provider.

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Professional Regulation/Health & Safety

Definitions

“Telehealth” means the use of telecommunications services, as defined in section 269‑1, to encompass four modalities: store-and-forward technologies, remote monitoring, live consultation, and mobile health; and which shall include but not be limited to real-time video conferencing-based communication, secure interactive and non‑interactive web-based communication, and secure asynchronous information exchange, to transmit patient medical information, including diagnostic-quality digital images and laboratory results for medical interpretation and diagnosis, for the purpose of: delivering enhanced health care services and information while a patient is at an originating site and the physician is at a distant site; establishing a physician-patient relationship; evaluating a patient; or treating a patient.

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Consent

No reference found.

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Online Prescribing

Click for a list of online prescribing requirements.

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Cross State Licensing

A licensed out-of-state practitioner of medicine or surgery can utilize telemedicine to consult with a Hawaii licensed physician or osteopathic physician as long as they don’t open an office or meet with patients in the state; the HI licensed provider retains control of the patient; and the laws and rules relating to contagious diseases are not violated.

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Miscellaneous

Professional liability insurance for health care providers must provide malpractice coverage for telehealth equivalent to coverage for the same services provided via face-to-face contact.

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Source: Center for Connected Health Policy
https://www.cchpca.org