SB323 Alabama 2020 Session

Summary

Primary Sponsor

Dan RobertsSenator

Republican

Session

Regular Session 2020

Title

Health care, insurance providers, provide coverage for cost of health care services provided via specified technological aids, requirements and restrictions for health care providers

Summary

SB323 would require Alabama health insurers, group health plans, and HMOs to cover telemedicine services and set rules for payment and coverage.

What This Bill Does

Defines telemedicine as interactive electronic technology (not audio-only or basic electronic messages) used to diagnose, treat, monitor, or consult. It requires insurers, group plans, and HMOs to cover telemedicine services and prohibits excluding these services from coverage solely because they are delivered remotely. It mandates reimbursement for telemedicine on the same basis as in-person services (including remote monitoring), with cost-sharing rules not exceeding those for equivalent in-person care. It allows utilization review like for other services, but does not require pre-authorization for emergent telemedicine, and sets limits on maximums and terms to ensure parity; it also sets when the coverage rules take effect and notes certain exclusions.

Who It Affects

• Insurers, group health plan providers, and health maintenance organizations in Alabama, who must cover telemedicine services and determine payment rules.
• Patients and healthcare providers who use telemedicine, who would receive coverage for telemedicine services and be subject to the same treatment and cost-sharing standards as in-person care.

Key Provisions

• Telemedicine is defined as using electronic technology or media with interactive audio or video for diagnosis, treatment, remote patient monitoring, or consultation; audio-only calls, emails, faxes, and online questionnaires are excluded.
• Insurers, group health plans, and HMOs must provide coverage for telemedicine services.
• No plan may exclude a service from coverage solely because it is delivered via telemedicine.
• Reimbursement for telemedicine must be on the same basis as the same service when provided face-to-face, including for diagnosis, consultation, or treatment delivered remotely.
• Plans may impose deductibles, copayments, or coinsurance for telemedicine, but these cannot exceed what would apply to in-person services.
• There shall be no separate annual or lifetime maximums for telemedicine coverage beyond any overall plan maximums, and terms must be applied equally to telemedicine and non-telemedicine services.
• Utilization review is allowed but must follow the same processes as for other services; emergent telemedicine services cannot require pre-authorization.
• The act becomes effective on the first day of the third month after passage and Governor's approval; applies to policies delivered after January 1, 2020, or when policy terms or premiums are changed.
• Excludes short-term travel coverage, accident-only coverage, limited disease coverage, or specified disease coverage, and excludes coverage under Medicare or similar government plans.
• Coverage must include the use of telemedicine technologies for remote patient monitoring to the full extent those services are available.

AI-generated summary using openai/gpt-5-nano on Feb 23, 2026. May contain errors — refer to the official bill text for accuracy.

Subjects

Health