MISSISSIPPI TELEMEDICINE LAW
Mississippi is currently suffering from one of the nation’s worst shortages of physicians, so it’s a good thing the state has progressive telemedicine laws.
State policies make it easy to receive coverage for telemedical services as well as home monitoring. There are only 10 states that require coverage for store-and-forward technology, and Mississippi is one of them! Take a look at Mississippi’s laws in full.
Parity Law
Mississippi currently has a telemedicine parity law in place. This means the state requires coverage for telemedicine under private insurance, state employee health plans, and public assistance.
Type of Telemedicine Covered
Mississippi Medicaid and private payers are required to cover video consultations, asynchronous store-and-forward platforms, and patient monitoring. There are specific technology guidelines that determine reimbursement eligibility for at-home monitoring. However, NO reimbursement is allowed for phone, email or fax services. All the more reason to use a telemedicine platform!
Covered Health Services
Mississippi has no unusual rules for what health services are covered in telemedicine treatment settings. There are specific rules on patient eligibility for home monitoring coverage.
Mississippi’s rules on remote patient monitoring coverage say an eligible patient must:
Be diagnosed in the last 18 months with one or more chronic condition, as defined by CMS.?
Have a recent history of costly services, and?
The patient’s healthcare provider recommends disease management services via remote patient monitoring.
Billing Codes
Billing codes in Mississippi are straightforward, with the only requirement being a “GQ” modifier for asynchronous telemedicine and remote patient monitoring.
Online Prescriptions
Online prescriptions following a telemedicine exam are accepted, alongside traditional phone and fax subscriptions.
Informed Patient Consent
Mississippi does require getting a patient’s consent before doing a telemedicine visit. We recommend this anyway as a telemedicine best practice. You can find the recommended patient consent form here.
Interstate Telemedicine Licensing
A physician who is unlicensed in Mississippi can only practice telemedicine with a patient there if it is a consultation for an in-state physician.
Additionally, the in-state, referring physician must meet specific criteria to prove an existing “physician-patient relationship.” A physician without a Mississippi license cannot practice direct-to-consumer telemedicine for a patient in the state.
Restrictions on Locations
Fortunately, Mississippi Medicaid does not have any restrictions on where the patient needs to be located during the telemedicine service.
Provider – Patient Relationship
To offer telemedicine in Mississippi, there needs to be a valid physician-patient relationship. Here are a few ways to establish that relationship:
*Establishing a diagnosis through the use of a patient history, physical exam, etc
*insuring the availability of appropriate follow-up care; and
*maintaining a complete medical record available to patient and other treating health care provider
Reimbursement Rates
Parity laws in Mississippi include the stipulation that telemedicine reimbursement rates must equal in-person visits.
Helpful Resources
Center for Connected Health Policy – Mississippi Page