HAWAII TELEMEDICINE LAW
Hawaii has been keen to adopt telemedicine, especially as the Aloha State is made up of so many islands. Hawaii’s governor recently amended the state’s private payer parity laws, ensuring same reimbursement for telemedicine as for in-person services and expanding the list of eligible telehealthcare providers.
Ready to find out more about Hawaii’s telemedicine policy? Keep on reading.
Parity Law
Since Hawaii amended its telemedicine parity law in 2014, private payers are now required to reimburse telemedicine on the same basis as in-person services. The recent amendment also expanded the list of eligible health care providers who can do telemedicine.
Type of Telemedicine Covered
In Hawaii, private payers and Medicaid reimburses for live-video telehealth services the same as face-to-face services. Also, under Medicare, Hawaii is one of only two states that allows Medicare coverage of store and forward telehealth services.
Covered Health Services
The following health services are covered in Hawaii:
Inpatient hospital services
Outpatient hospital services
Rural health center (including federally-qualified health center) services
Other laboratory and x-ray services
Family Practice and Pediatric Nurse Practitioners’ services
Nursing facility (NF) services and home health services
Early and periodic screening, diagnosis and treatment (EPSDT) for individuals under 21
Family planning services and supplies
Physician services and medical and surgical services of a dentist
Nurse-Midwife services
Billing Codes
To bill for telemedicine services, use the relevant CPT/HCPCS code and add the GT modifier, to document that it was a telemedicine visit.
Want more details? Check out the Hawaii State Medicaid Page
Eligible Healthcare Providers
Only certain healthcare providers are eligible for telemedicine reimbursement in Hawaii. Here’s the list of eligible practitioners:
Primary Care Providers
Mental Health
Oral Health
Physicians And Osteopathic Physicians
Advanced Practice Registered Nurses
Psychologists
Dentists
Online Prescriptions
Healthcare providers can only eprescribe when there is an established doctor-patient relationship.
Interstate Telemedicine Licensing
You must have a medical license in Hawaii to be covered for telehealth services reimbursed by Medicaid. Hawaii is part of no interstate telemedicine compacts at this time.
Provider-Patient Relationship
In Hawaii, there needs to be a prior doctor-patient relationship to do telemedicine.
Restrictions on Locations
Center for Connected Health Policy – Hawaii State Page
Pacific Basin Telehealth Resource Center
The American Telemedicine Association State Policy Matrix
Hawaii Telehealth Collaborative
Reimbursement Rates
Reimbursement rates in Hawaii are the same as for face to face services.
Helpful Resources
· Center for Connected Health Policy – Georgia State Page
· Georgia Medicaid Telemedicine Handbook
· The American Telemedicine Association State Policy Matrix
· Georgia Partnership for Telehealth