State Telemedicine Policy Information
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Montana Telemedicine Policy
Montana Telemedicine Policy
Montana’s private insurance parity law was enacted in 2013, providing telehealth coverage for private payers and state employee health plans. Montana’s Medicaid program also reimburses for telemedicine, with a few restrictions.
State Policy Overview
Medicaid
Yes
Private Payer
Yes
Parity
Yes
Additional State Telemedicine Info
Parity Laws
Since 2013, Montana has had a telehealth parity law in place. This means private payers and state employee health plans must cover telemedicine on the same basis as in-person services.
Medicaid
Montana’s state Medicaid program offers some coverage for telehealth, with a few restrictions. The program defines telemedicine as “the use of interactive audio-video equipment to link practitioners and patients located at different sites.” This broad definition leaves room for a wide variety of telehealth services. Currently, the state specifically reimburses only for live-video telemedicine, not store-and-forward or remote patient monitoring solutions.
Type Of Telemedicine Covered
Montana law requires private payers to cover medical treatment delivered through live video and store-and-forward telemedicine at the same rates as in-person services. Montana Medicaid, on the other hand, only covers live video telehealth.
Covered Health Services
Instead of outlining specific covered health services, Montana’s Medicaid program states that it covers “medically necessary telemedicine services for eligible members.” The state does allow telemedicine services through Healthy Montana Kids and for speech therapy. See your Medicaid Programs Manual for more details!
Eligible Healthcare Providers
While Montana Medicaid does not identify specific providers for telehealth services, the state does list eligible providers covered under its private payer parity law:
- Physicians
- Registered professional nurse
- Advanced practice registered nurse
- Genetic counselor
- Diabetes educator
- Dentists & Dental Hygienists
Online Prescriptions
Montana has no laws prohibiting or regulating online prescriptions through telemedicine.
Informed Patient Consent
Montana does not have any guidelines for getting telemedicine-specific patient consent. However, we recommend this anyway as a telemedicine best practice.
Cross-State Telemedicine Licensing
Providers practicing telemedicine with patients in Montana are required to have a full Montana license. However, Montana is also part of the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact! The compact allows physicians to go through an expedited process to get licensed in other states that have also joined the compact. In other words, it’ll make it much easier to provide telemedicine to patients in other states!
Restrictions On Locations
According to Montana’s Medicaid program, the provider delivering the telemedicine service needs to be located at one of the following places:
- Critical access hospital
- Hospice
- Hospital
- Long-term care facility
- Mental health center
- Outpatient center for primary care
- Outpatient center for surgical services
However, Medicaid does not have specific requirements for the originating site (patient’s location) at the time of service. The program states that the patient can receive care in their home.
Reimbursement Rates
Reimbursement rates for telemedicine must be equivalent to in-person care rates for private payers and state employee health plans.