South Carolina General Assembly
119th Session, 2011-2012

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H. 4944

STATUS INFORMATION

General Bill
Sponsors: Reps. Crawford, Patrick, Herbkersman, Brady, Bedingfield, Anderson, Sandifer, Erickson, McCoy, Brannon, Bowers, Gambrell, Hayes, Limehouse, Lowe, Mack, Pinson, Spires, Edge, Stavrinakis and Whipper
Document Path: l:\council\bills\agm\19473ab12.docx

Introduced in the House on March 1, 2012
Introduced in the Senate on May 15, 2012
Last Amended on May 9, 2012
Currently residing in the Senate Committee on Banking and Insurance

Summary: Telemedicine Insurance Reimbursement Act

HISTORY OF LEGISLATIVE ACTIONS

     Date      Body   Action Description with journal page number
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    3/1/2012  House   Introduced and read first time (House Journal-page 75)
    3/1/2012  House   Referred to Committee on Labor, Commerce and Industry 
                        (House Journal-page 75)
    3/1/2012          Scrivener's error corrected
   3/20/2012  House   Member(s) request name added as sponsor: Edge, 
                        Stavrinakis
   4/19/2012  House   Committee report: Favorable with amendment Labor, 
                        Commerce and Industry (House Journal-page 3)
   4/24/2012  House   Member(s) request name added as sponsor: Whipper
   4/25/2012  House   Requests for debate-Rep(s). King (House Journal-page 29)
   4/25/2012  House   Debate adjourned until Tues., 05-01-12 
                        (House Journal-page 29)
    5/1/2012  House   Debate adjourned until Tues., 05-08-12 
                        (House Journal-page 26)
    5/8/2012  House   Debate adjourned until Wed., 05-09-12 
                        (House Journal-page 9)
    5/9/2012  House   Requests for debate-Rep(s). Patrick, Crawford, Brannon, 
                        Tallon, Herbkersman, Sandifer, Whitmire, Bedingfield, 
                        Bannister, Norman, JR Smith, Henderson, McCoy, Murphy, 
                        Allison, Parker, Pitts (House Journal-page 22)
    5/9/2012  House   Amended (House Journal-page 33)
    5/9/2012  House   Read second time (House Journal-page 33)
    5/9/2012  House   Roll call Yeas-87  Nays-17 (House Journal-page 36)
    5/9/2012  House   Unanimous consent for third reading on next legislative 
                        day (House Journal-page 38)
   5/11/2012          Scrivener's error corrected
   5/11/2012  House   Read third time and sent to Senate (House Journal-page 1)
   5/15/2012          Scrivener's error corrected
   5/15/2012  Senate  Introduced and read first time (Senate Journal-page 7)
   5/15/2012  Senate  Referred to Committee on Banking and Insurance 
                        (Senate Journal-page 7)

View the latest legislative information at the LPITS web site

VERSIONS OF THIS BILL

3/1/2012
3/1/2012-A
4/19/2012
5/9/2012
5/11/2012
5/15/2012

(Text matches printed bills. Document has been reformatted to meet World Wide Web specifications.)

AMENDED

May 9, 2012

H. 4944

Introduced by Reps. Crawford, Patrick, Herbkersman, Brady, Bedingfield, Anderson, Sandifer, Erickson, McCoy, Brannon, Bowers, Gambrell, Hayes, Limehouse, Lowe, Mack, Pinson, Spires, Edge, Stavrinakis and Whipper

S. Printed 5/9/12--H.    [SEC 5/15/12 10:39 AM]

Read the first time March 1, 2012.

            

A BILL

TO AMEND THE CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, SO AS TO ENACT THE "SOUTH CAROLINA TELEMEDICINE INSURANCE REIMBURSEMENT ACT"; BY ADDING SECTION 38-71-295 SO AS TO PROVIDE RELATED DEFINITIONS, TO PROVIDE FOR A PHYSICIAN OR OTHER HEALTH CARE PROVIDER THAT PERFORMS TELEMEDICINE SERVICES IN A CERTAIN MANNER MUST BE REIMBURSED FOR THOSE SERVICES IN THE SAME MANNER AS HEALTH CARE SERVICES PROVIDED THROUGH AN IN-PERSON CONSULTATION, TO PROVIDE DELIVERY OF HEALTH CARE BY MEANS OF TELEMEDICINE MUST SATISFY CERTAIN REQUIREMENTS FOR DELIVERING THE SAME CARE IN PERSON; AND TO PROVIDE THE SOUTH CAROLINA BOARD MEDICAL EXAMINERS MAY AUTHORIZE THE PROVISION OF ADDITIONAL HEALTH CARE SERVICES BY CERTAIN MEANS THROUGH THE USE OF STANDARD TELEPHONE, FACSIMILE TRANSMISSIONS, UNSECURED ELECTRONIC MAIL, OR A COMBINATION OF THEM, SUBJECT TO AN EXCEPTION.

Amend Title To Conform

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:

SECTION    1.    This act is known and may be cited as the "South Carolina Telemedicine Insurance Reimbursement Act".

SECTION    2.    Article 1, Chapter 71, Title 38 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:

"Section 38-71-295.    (A)    For the purposes of this article:

(1)    'Telemedicine' means the delivery of health care, including diagnosis, treatment, or transfer of medical data, by means of interactive audio, video, or data communications by a licensed physician or other health care provider at a consultant site to a patient at a referring site. Interactive audio and video telecommunications must be used between the consultant site and the referring site. Standard telephone, facsimile transmissions, unsecured electronic mail, or a combination of them do not constitute telemedicine services.

(2)    'Consultant site' means the physical site at which the consulting physician or other health care provider is located at the time that health care is provided by means of telemedicine.

(3)    'Referring site' means the physical site of the patient.

(4)    'Insurer' means an accident and health insurance company, fraternal benefit society, hospital service corporation, medical service corporation, health care corporation, health maintenance organization, preferred provider organization, provider-sponsored health care corporation, managed care entity, or any similar entity authorized by the State of South Carolina to provide health insurance policies in this State.

(5)    'Health care provider' means a licensed physician, physician group practice, hospital system, or a licensed physician's assistant or licensed advanced practice registered nurse practicing within his or her scope of practice and supervision requirements, except for distance, under the laws of this State. For purposes of the referring site, a health care provider may include a registered nurse licensed in this State who is providing health care in a school or prison setting. For purposes of the consultant site, a health care provider may include a licensed speech pathologist or licensed or certified disease management educator.

(B)    The physician or other health care provider at the consultant site delivering health care by means of telemedicine to a patient at the referring site must be reimbursed for those services in the same manner as health care services provided through an in-person consultation. Nothing in this section shall prohibit a commercial insurer or managed care organization from including or excluding telemedicine services as a covered service in a health care contract or from negotiating with health care providers for reimbursement rates for telemedicine.

(C)    If a patient seeks and receives telemedicine services and has an existing medical home, it is the responsibility of the telemedicine provider to promptly and electronically communicate the details of the encounter to the medical home. It then becomes the responsibility of the medical home to decide when a face to face encounter is necessary.

(1)    If the patient seeks and receives telemedicine services and has no existing medical home, it becomes the responsibility of the telemedicine provider to either perform a face to face encounter or arrange for a face to face encounter with an existing physician practice within one week.

(2)    A medical home is defined as a primary care or internal medicine practice in which the patient has received care within one year.

(D)    The South Carolina Board of Medical Examiners has the authority to authorize, at its sole discretion, other specific programs that use standard telephone, facsimile transmissions, unsecured electronic mail, or a combination of them to render health care services; however, services provided though such specific programs are not subject to subsection (B)."

SECTION    3.    This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.

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This web page was last updated on Tuesday, December 10, 2013 at 10:31 A.M.