Colorado To Implement Telehealth Parity

On March 20, 2015, the governor of Colorado signed new legislation requiring all health plans operating in Colorado to reimburse for telehealth services at parity with in-person services starting January 1, 2017. Managed care plans can count specialists and sub-specialists in their provider organization networks to demonstrate network adequacy. Previously state law required parity telehealth reimbursement only for rural counties.

Colorado defines telehealth as a mode of delivering health care services through telecommunications systems while the covered person is at an approved originating site and the clinical professional is at a distant site; the term includes synchronous (real . . .