AARP Applauds Pennsylvania Law Expanding Telehealth Coverage

En español | Pennsylvanians who see their doctor via telehealth can soon rest easy knowing the cost will be covered, thanks in part to advocacy from AARP.

The Keystone State had been among a handful in the U.S. lacking a law that required commercial health insurers to cover the cost of telehealth services. That will change under an AARP-backed state law taking effect Oct. 1.

Under the new law, if an insurer covers a health care service performed in person, it must also cover the service through telehealth. The bipartisan measure, sponsored by Pennsylvania Sen. Elder Vogel and signed into law by Gov. Josh Shapiro July 3, was “more than a decade in the making,” Vogel said in a statement. The law would also apply to Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP).

Though some private insurers already covered telehealth, the lack of a law caused confusion for many Pennsylvanians who often worried whether their insurance would pay for the care according to Teresa Osborne, advocacy manager for AARP Pennsylvania.

“Telehealth enables older Pennsylvanians to access appropriate health care services conveniently and safely,” said AARP Pennsylvania State Director Bill Johnston-Walsh. “We applaud the General Assembly for working together to ensure that Pennsylvanians continue to have access to telehealth tools that can improve health outcomes, lower costs and enhance quality of life.”

AARP has long championed telehealth to make health care more accessible, especially for those living in rural areas. Pennsylvania faces a rural health care crisis after more than 30 hospitals have reduced services or closed in the state over the past two decades, the governor’s office said in a news release.

AARP has argued that telehealth can help working or long-distance family caregivers participate in their loved one’s medical care, and ease caregivers’ stress by reducing travel time and costs. We continue to push Congress to permanently allow telehealth coverage for all Medicare beneficiaries.

Read more about telehealth and how AARP is fighting to improve health care access. To learn how to navigate a telehealth visit, sign up for a class with Senior Planet from AARP.

Natalie Missakian covers federal and state policy and writes AARP’s Fighting for You Every Day blog. She previously worked as a reporter for the New Haven Register and daily newspapers in Ohio. She has also written for the AARP Bulletin, the Hartford Business Journal and other publications.

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