State Telemedicine Policy Information

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New Hampshire Telemedicine Policy

New Hampshire Telemedicine Policy

New Hampshire is making some progress towards more comprehensive telemedicine policies. While the state’s Medicaid program offers limited coverage for telehealth, New Hampshire recently passed several pieces of legislation that expands coverage by private payers and access to out-of-state telehealth providers. The state’s telehealth parity law now requires private payers to reimburse for any telehealth services where the in-person service is also normally reimbursed. As of May 2016, New Hampshire joined the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact, which simplifies medical licensing across state lines. 

State Policy Overview

Medicaid

Yes

Private Payer

Yes

Parity

Yes

Additional State Telemedicine Info

Parity Laws

Enacted in 2009, New Hampshire’s telehealth parity law stipulates that private insurance companies must cover care delivered via telehealth in the same way as similar in-person care. This applies to live video telemedicine and extends to state employee health plans.

Medicaid

New Hampshire Medicaid follows Medicare guidelines for telehealth reimbursement and unfortunately places many restrictions on coverage. Currently, the program will reimburse for specific medical services provided over live video, but only with specific healthcare provider types, locations, and patients in healthcare shortage areas.

Type Of Telemedicine Covered

New Hampshire Medicaid reimburses for certain medical services provided over live video telemedicine. The program doesn’t cover store-and-forward or remote patient monitoring at this time.

Covered Health Services

The only services explicitly not covered by New Hampshire’s state telemedicine laws are home rehabilitation and home health monitoring services. If you are a New Hampshire Medicaid provider, however, you should refer to Medicare’s telehealth guidelines for the list of covered telehealth services. 

Eligible Healthcare Providers

While there are no specific restrictions on eligible telehealth providers under the state parity law, New Hampshire Medicaid will only reimburse telehealth care for the following providers:

  • Physician
  • Nurse practitioner
  • Clinical nurse specialist
  • Nurse-midwife
  • Clinical psychologist
  • Clinical social worker
  • A registered dietitian or specified nutrition professional

Online Prescriptions

Prescriptions can only be provided when there is a patient-physician relationship (which can be established via telemedicine). Exceptions to this statute are:

  • Writing admission orders for a newly hospitalized patient
  • A patient of another provider for whom the prescriber is taking a call
  • A prescription for a patient who has been examined by a physician assistant, nurse practitioner, or another licensed practitioner
  • Medication on a short-term basis for a new patient prior to the patient’s first appointment
  • When providing limited treatment to a family member in accordance with the American Medical Association Code of Medical Ethics

Informed Patient Consent

New Hampshire state does not have any specific requirements for getting patient consent for a telemedicine visit. However, we recommend obtaining patient consent as a telemedicine best practice. 

Learn more about patient consent here.

Cross-State Telemedicine Licensing

Out-of-state physicians without a full New Hampshire medical license can provide consultations to other physicians in-state, but cannot hold the “authority and responsibility” for a patient diagnosis. Additionally, New Hampshire is now part of the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact! The compact makes it easier for out-of-state telehealth providers to get licensed in New Hampshire. 

Restrictions On Locations

New Hampshire Medicaid follows the same requirements as Medicare policies regarding telehealthcare. This means the patients need to live in a rural health professional shortage area and they need to be at an eligible originating site for the telehealth visit.

Here’s the list of eligible originating sites:

 

  • The offices of physicians or practitioners
  • Hospitals
  • Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs)
  • Rural Health Clinics
  • Federally Qualified Health Centers
  • Hospital-based or CAH-based Renal Dialysis Centers (including satellites)
  • Skilled Nursing Facilities (SNFs) and
  • Community Mental Health Centers (CMHCs)

Reimbursement Rates

Under New Hampshire’s telehealth parity law, private insurance companies have to pay the same rates for telemedicine as in-person procedures.

Billing Codes

When billing for telehealth through Medicaid, follow the Medicare billing guidelines. Medicare requires using the appropriate HCPCS or CPT code along with a GT modifier to show that the care took place virtually. Here’s the full list of billing codes.

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