Telemedicine Startups Face Uncertain Regulatory Terrain

Telemedicine startups are confronting a hodgepodge of state regulations, complicating their efforts to expand their services nationwide. Companies that provide care over the web or through mobile devices scaled up rapidly during the pandemic, as overcrowding at hospitals led to more patients meeting doctors virtually. Aiding startups’ growth were temporary waivers of restrictions on telemedicine that many states enacted, including a requirement that doctors be licensed in their state to provide virtual care. Now, some states are allowing those waivers to expire, while others are maintaining them, creating an increasingly complex regulatory terrain. Restrictions on telemedicine will return after the public-health emergency unless Congress acts. A bipartisan bill in the Senate, the Connect for Health Act of 2021, would permanently remove Medicare geographic restrictions and enable beneficiaries to receive telemedicine in their homes and other sites. Some venture capitalists acknowledge the regulatory friction in telemedicine but said the pandemic has alerted many more doctors and patients to its benefits, such as increased convenience and the ability to expand high-quality care in remote corners where few physicians maintain physical offices.