GA Code § 33-24-56.4 (2021)
2021 Georgia Code|Title 33 - Insurance|Chapter 24 - Insurance Generally|Article 1 - General Provisions|§ 33-24-56.4. Short Title; Definitions; Payment for Telehealth Services

  This Code section shall be known and may be cited as the "Georgia Telehealth Act."   As used in this Code section, the term:   "Distant site" means a site at which a health care provider legally allowed to practice in this state is located while providing health care services by means of telemedicine or telehealth, which may include the home of the health care provider.   "Health benefit policy" means any individual or group plan, policy, or contract for health care services issued, delivered, issued for delivery, executed, or renewed in this state, including, but not limited to, any health insurance plan established under Article 1 of Chapter 18 of Title 45 or under Article 7 of Chapter 4 of Title 49.   "Insurer" means an accident and sickness insurer, fraternal benefit society, hospital service corporation, medical service corporation, health care corporation, health maintenance organization, provider sponsored health care corporation, managed care entity, or any similar entity authorized to issue contracts under this title or to provide health benefit policies.  (3.1) "Interprofessional consultation" means an assessment and management service in which a patient's health care provider seeks treatment advice from a consulting provider with specific specialty expertise to assist the patient's health care provider in diagnosing or treating the patient.    "Originating site" means a site at which a patient is located at the time health care services are provided to him or her by means of telemedicine or telehealth, which may include a patient's home, workplace, or school; provided, however, that notwithstanding any other provision of law, insurers and providers may agree to alternative siting arrangements deemed appropriate by the parties.   "Store and forward transfer" means the transmission of a patient's medical information either to or from an originating site or to or from the provider at the distant site, but does not require the patient being present nor must it be in real time.   "Telehealth" means the use of information and communications technologies, including, but not limited to, telephones, remote patient monitoring devices or other electronic means which support clinical health care, provider consultation, patient and professional health related education, public health, and health administration.   "Telemedicine” means a form of telehealth which is the delivery of clinical health care services by means of real-time two-way audio, visual, or other telecommunications or electronic communications, including the application of secure video conferencing or store and forward transfer technology to provide or support health care delivery, which facilitate the assessment, diagnosis, consultation, treatment, education, care management, and self-management of a patient's health care by a health care provider practicing within his or her scope of practice as would be practiced in-person with a patient as prescribed by applicable federal and state laws, rules, and regulations, and legally allowed to practice in this state, while such patient is at an originating site and the health care provider is at a distant site. Such term includes audio-only telephone only when no other means of real-time two-way audio, visual, or other telecommunications or electronic communications are available to the patient due to lack of availability of such real-time two-way audio, visual, or other telecommunications or electronic communications, due to lack of adequate broadband access, or because the use of other means of real-time two-way audio, visual, or other telecommunications or electronic communications is infeasible, impractical, or otherwise not medically advisable, as determined by the health care provider providing telemedicine services to the patient or as determined by another health care provider with an existing relationship with the patient.     It is the intent of the General Assembly to mitigate geographic discrimination in the delivery of health care by recognizing the application of and payment for covered medical care provided by means of telehealth, provided that such services are provided by a physician or by another health care practitioner or professional acting within the scope of practice of such health care practitioner or professional and in accordance with the provisions of Code Section 43-34-31.   Each insurer proposing to issue a health benefit policy shall provide coverage for the cost of health care services provided through telehealth or telemedicine as directed through regulations promulgated by the department.   An insurer shall not exclude a service for coverage solely because the service is provided through telemedicine services and is not provided through in-person consultation or contact between a health care provider and a patient for services appropriately provided through telemedicine services.   No insurer shall require an in-person consultation or contact before a patient may receive telemedicine services from a health care provider, except for the purposes of initial installation, setup, or delivery of in-home telehealth devices or services, or as otherwise required by state or federal law, rule, or regulation.   An insurer shall reimburse the treating provider or the consulting provider for the diagnosis, consultation, or treatment of the insured delivered through telemedicine services on the same basis and at least at the rate that the insurer is responsible for coverage for the provision of the same service through in-person consultation or contact; provided, however, that nothing in this subsection shall require (1) a health care provider or telemedicine company to accept more reimbursement than they are willing to charge or (2) an insurer to pay for a telemedicine service provided through an audio-only call for any service other than mental or behavioral health services. Payment for telemedicine interactions shall include reasonable compensation to the originating or distant site for the transmission cost incurred during the delivery of health care services; provided, however, that this shall not require the insurer to include payment for transmission costs if the originating or distant site is a home.   If a treating provider obtains interprofessional consultation from a consulting provider for a patient for whom the treating provider conducted an examination through telemedicine services, an insurer shall not require the consulting provider to conduct, either in-person or through telemedicine services, an examination of such patient in order to receive reimbursement, unless such examination by the consulting provider would be required for the provision of the same services when the initial examination of the patient by the treating provider was conducted through in-person consultation or contact.   No insurer shall impose any deductible or annual or lifetime dollar maximum on coverage for telemedicine services other than a deductible or annual or lifetime dollar maximum that applies in the aggregate to all items and services covered under the policy, or impose upon any person receiving benefits pursuant to this Code section any copayment, coinsurance, or deductible amounts, or any policy year, calendar year, lifetime, or other durational benefit limitation or maximum for benefits or services, that is not equally imposed upon all terms and services covered under the health benefit policy.   No insurer shall require its insureds to use telemedicine services in lieu of in-person consultation or contact.   On and after January 1, 2020, every health benefit policy that is issued, amended, or renewed shall include payment for services that are covered under such health benefit policy and are appropriately provided through telehealth in accordance with Code Section 43-34-31, this Code section, and generally accepted health care practices and standards prevailing in the applicable professional community at the time the services were provided.   No insurer shall impose any type of utilization review on telemedicine services unless such type of utilization review is imposed when the same services are provided through in-person consultation or contact.   No insurer shall restrict coverage of telehealth or telemedicine services to services provided by a particular vendor, or other third party, or services provided through a particular electronic communications technology platform; provided, however, that nothing in this Code section shall require an insurer to cover any telehealth or telemedicine services provided through an electronic communications technology platform that does not comply with applicable state and federal privacy laws.   No insurer shall place any restrictions on prescribing medications through telemedicine that are more restrictive than what is required under applicable state and federal laws for prescribing medications through in-person consultation or contact.   A health care provider shall maintain documentation of each health care service provided through telemedicine in a manner that is at least as extensive and thorough as when the health care service is provided through in-person consultation or contact and, upon request, make such documentation available in accordance with applicable state and federal law.   Nothing in this Code section shall be construed to limit, alter, or expand the scope of practice, standard of care, prescriptive authority, or supervision requirements for health care providers or privacy rights, other than as provided in applicable federal law and state laws, rules, and regulations.     (Code 1981, §33-24-56.4, enacted by Ga. L. 2005, p. 481, § 3/HB 291; Ga. L. 2009, p. 859, § 11/HB 509; Ga. L. 2011, p. 752, § 33/HB 142; Ga. L. 2019, p. 386, § 56/SB 133; Ga. L. 2019, p. 512, § 1/SB 118; Ga. L. 2021, p. 378, § 1/HB 307.)    The 2019 amendments.  The first 2019 amendment, effective July 1, 2019, in paragraph (b)(1), substituted "the state" for "the State of Georgia"; and, in paragraph (b)(2), deleted "hospital service corporation, medical service corporation," following "fraternal benefits society,". The second 2019 amendment, effective January 1, 2020, substituted "telemedicine" for "telehealth" in the middle of subsections (c) and (i); substituted "Telehealth" for "Telemedicine" in subsection (a); rewrote subsection (b), which read: "(b) As used in this Code section, the term:   "(1) 'Health benefit policy' means any individual or group plan, policy, or contract for health care services issued, delivered, issued for delivery, executed, or renewed in this state, including, but not limited to, those contracts executed by the State of Georgia on behalf of state employees under Article 1 of Chapter 18 of Title 45, by an insurer.   "(2) 'Insurer' means an accident and sickness insurer, fraternal benefit society, hospital service corporation, medical service corporation, health care corporation, health maintenance organization, preferred provider organization, provider sponsored health care corporation, managed care entity, or any similar entity authorized to issue contracts under this title or to provide health benefit policies.   "(3) 'Telemedicine' means the practice, by a duly licensed physician or other health care provider acting within the scope of such provider's practice, of health care delivery, diagnosis, consultation, treatment, or transfer of medical data by means of audio, video, or data communications which are used during a medical visit with a patient or which are used to transfer medical data obtained during a medical visit with a patient. Standard telephone, facsimile transmissions, unsecured e-mail, or a combination thereof do not constitute telemedicine services."; added subsections (d) through (h); redesignated former subsection (d) as subsection (i); and, in subsection (i), substituted "January 1, 2020" for "July 1, 2005", inserted "this Code section,", and deleted the last sentence, which read: "The coverage required in this Code section may be subject to all terms and conditions of the applicable health benefit plan." See the Code Commission notes regarding the effect of these amendments.    The 2021 amendment,  effective May 4, 2021, added ", which may include the home of the health care provider" at the end of paragraph (b)(1); added paragraph (b)(3.1); in paragraph (b)(4), deleted "in this state" following "means a site" at the beginning and substituted "which may include a patient's home, workplace, or school" for "unless the term is otherwise defined with respect to the provision in which it is used" in the middle; in paragraph (b)(7), substituted "real-time" for "real time" near the beginning of the first sentence, inserted "as prescribed by applicable federal and state laws, rules, and regulations" near the end of the first sentence, and added the last sentence; added subsections (f) and (h) and redesignated former subsections (f), (g), (h), and (i) as present subsections (g), (i), (j), and (k), respectively; in subsection (g), inserted "(1)" and "or (2) and insurer to pay for a telemedicine service provided through an audio-only call for any service other than mental or behavioral health services" at the end of the first sentence, and added the proviso at the end of the second sentence; in subsection (i), inserted "deductible or" and substituted "than a deductible or annual" for "than an annual" near the beginning; and added subsections (l) through (p).   Code Commission notes.   - Pursuant to Code Section 28-9-5, in 2019, the amendment of subsection (b) of this Code section by Ga. L. 2019, p. 386, § 56/SB 133, was treated as impliedly repealed and superseded by Ga. L. 2019, p. 512, § 1/SB 118, due to irreconcilable conflict.   RESEARCH REFERENCES   Authorized or Prohibited Practice of Telemedicine, 183 Am. Jur. POF.3d 353.