KENTUCKY TELEMEDICINE LAW
KENTUCKY IS A FRONTRUNNER IN THE EXPANSION OF TELEMEDICINE! KENTUCKY IS ONE OF ONLY TWO STATE MEDICAID PROGRAMS THAT ALLOW CHIROPRACTORS TO BILL FOR TELEMEDICINE.
READY TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT KENTUCKY’S TELEMEDICINE POLICY? CHECK OUT OUR STATE GUIDE BELOW!
Parity Law
The Bluegrass State passed a private payer parity act back in 2000! This means that private payers in this state are legally obligated to cover telemedicine services the same as in-person medical services.
Type of Telemedicine Covered
Kentucky Medicaid covers live video telemedicine, but unfortunately does not yet reimburse for store-and-forward solutions of remote patient monitoring.
Covered Health Services
Kentucky Medicaid allows providers to deliver a variety of medical services via telemedicine, such as:
Standard consultations
Mental health evaluation and management services
Individual and group psychotherapy
Pharmacologic management
Psychiatric/psychological/mental health diagnostic interview examinations
Individual medical nutrition services
Occupational therapy evaluation or treatment
And more
Want more details? Check out the Kentucky State Medicaid Manual.
Eligible Healthcare Providers
Kentucky Medicaid allows a long list of healthcare providers to practice telemedicine, such as:
A psychiatrist
A licensed clinical social worker
A psychologist
A licensed professional clinical counselor
A licensed marriage and family therapist
A physician
A Chiropractor
An ARNP
Speech-language pathologist
Occupational therapist
Physical therapist
Informed Patient Consent
Patient’s written consent is required to do telemedicine. You can read more about how to do telemedicine-specific patient informed consent here.
Prescriptions
A provider can submit an online prescription as long as there’s an established provider-patient relationship. Fortunately, with all health providers except those certified through Board of Speech Language Pathology and Audiology, a telemedicine visit can be used to establish that provider-patient relationship.
Interstate Telemedicine Licensing
In order to practice telemedicine in Kentucky, provider must be fully licensed in Kentucky as well. Kentucky isn’t part of the Interstate medical license compact yet.
Reimbursement Rates
Except for telehealth services provided by Advanced Registered Nurse Practitioners or Community Mental Health Clinics, telemedicine has the same reimbursement rates as in-person services.
Helpful Resources
Center for Connected Health Policy – Kentucky State Page
Mid-Atlantic Telehealth Resource Center .
The American Telemedicine Association State Policy Matrix