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Redefining the Safety Net

Should California establish a Basic Health Program for certain low-income residents? CHCF's Marian Mulkey captures a recent policy conversation in a Health Affairs blog.

Accountable Care in Action

A new post on the Health Affairs blog details how CalPERS kept costs down in Sacramento through a "virtual" ACO with insurers and providers.

Career Opportunity: Senior Program Officer

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Special Reports

Monday, February 27, 2012

New California Law Seeks To Expand Telehealth Services for Medicaid Beneficiaries

A new California law (AB 415) is expanding access to health care services in rural areas through the use of telehealth.

The law allows for a broader range of telehealth services, expands the definition of telehealth providers to include all licensed health care professionals, expands telehealth care settings and allows state hospitals to establish medical credentials for telehealth providers more easily.

In a California Healthline Special Report by Deirdre Kennedy, telehealth experts discuss how the new law is working.

The Special Report includes comments from:

  • April Armstrong, director of the Clinical Research Unit and Teledermatology Program at UC-Davis Health System's Department of Dermatology;
  • Mario Gutierrez, interim executive director for the Center for Connected Health Policy;
  • Jonathan Lopez, a dermatology patient;
  • Jen Lang-Ree, a nurse practitioner in Truckee, Calif.; and
  • Thomas Nesbitt, director of UC-Davis' Center for Health and Technology (Kennedy, California Healthline, 2/27).

The complete transcript of this report is available as a PDF.

Running Time: 4:46

Reader Comments:
  • 4
  • 03/12/2012
  • Kathy Sowers

Telemedicine is being used throughout the nation as an effective and less costly way to reach the underserved rural areas and the people who live there with few resources to get to cities for treatment by specialists. It's not new, it's been available for awhile and is becoming mainstream, so regulation would follow. It is a godsend for underserved rural areas.

  • 3
  • 03/08/2012
  • Paul Rosenberger

This is just another major healthcare SHAM to create another healthcare agency that is designed to increase governmental healthcare control, bring more money to the State, and reduce the quality of healthcare for citizens.
Reach into your pockts everybody!! This will require more tax money in the name of healthcare, and it will be far, far worse than could be provided by private insurance or healthcare companies.

WHEN DO THE PEOPLE STOP THIS?? Probably never in the LaLa liberal State of California! Good grief, Charlie Brown! Why are Californians so stupid???????

  • 2
  • 03/05/2012
  • Jacob Kuriyan

An idea whose time is now. As a trial, can't we ask specialists to contribute an hour a month for the rural MediCal patients? I have always found doctors to be very generous - provided their generosity doesn't conflict with their "business" greatly. This will be such an easy process - no travel required. No work for the office staff. Appointments can be made through the local hospital and the Internet. All that the doctor has to do is spend that one hour. I know an endocrinologist in Palo Alto who may be willing to contribute to get the process started.

  • 1
  • 02/29/2012
  • evan yu

that is great! rural areas need the technology. if not for telehealth. the cost of travel plus copay would exceed that amount a patient needs to call a physician right over the phone or video conferencing. everyone should have the ability to speak with this 'online doctor' especially if it can save time. www.ringadoc.com



Readers are invited to send feedback to: chl@chcf.org