July 23, 2021 – Illinois Governor JB Pritzker has signed one of the country’s most progressive telehealth bills, with provisions that establish payment parity for telemental health services and give patients the right to request virtual care without a reason for doing so.

“The legislation I’ll sign today will solidify Illinois as a leader in telehealth access and expansion in the nation,” Pritzker said in a July 22 press release issued shortly before HB 3308 was signed. “Illinois is now one of the first states in the nation to turn our emergency pandemic response into a permanent reality. Not only that, but it expands key telehealth services like Early Intervention programs for early childhood development, adding to the growing number of telehealth services the General Assembly authorized this year.”

With the governor’s signature, Illinois joins more than 20 states that have permanently revised their connected health guidelines in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. Other states have allowed their emergency telehealth provision to lapse with the end of their public health emergencies or are waiting for the federal government to set its long-term telehealth policy.

Among other things, the legislation, which was passed by the state Legislature in May and June, eliminates geographical barriers to telehealth delivery, sets limits on patient cost-sharing, expands the use of remote patient monitoring, asynchronous telehealth and audio-only telehealth services, and expands the list of healthcare providers allowed to use telehealth to include substance use disorder professional and those providing early intervention services for children.

With regard to payment parity, the legislation requires payers to reimburse care providers for mental health and substance abuse services at the same rate as they would for in-person care. It also established payment parity for all other services through 2027, and calls for the creation of a 14-member telehealth payment parity task force to study long-term coverage.

The task force would “review existing plans and policies issued, delivered, and offered in this state with respect to coverage and reimbursement for telehealth services, relevant data on payment parity for telehealth services, and payment parity statutes in other states and provide recommendations on the economic feasibility and cost effectiveness of requiring payment parity for healthcare services provided via telehealth, including recommendations for possible legislation.”

It also prevents payers from requiring an in-person visit prior to a telehealth service or having patients provide a reason for requesting telehealth. And while it prevents a payer from requiring patients to see a provider virtually if they request in-person care, it also bars insurers from mandating that providers offer telehealth.