telehealth – Sandy Rosenberg

If the Godfather was a legislator, he might have put it this way: It helps to know what your opponents are thinking.

My first meeting today was about a bill of mine that will have its public hearing next week.

I will share the concerns raised this morning with someone who can respond with specific numbers.

My bill heard today would expand telehealth to school-based clinics.

In written testimony, Maryland Right to Life objected that abortions could be provided to school children.

However, that would not be permitted under the Medicaid program, the funding source for these clinics.

I decided to make this point when I testified, instead of responding if it had been raised by a legislator or lobbyist.

Doing it this way, I got to frame the issue.

It began as a change to an obscure regulation.

It resulted in an emergency bill that will be signed into law this afternoon.

The issue is telehealth. The question is when can a health care provider give advice to a patient who is not physically present.

The regulation was brought to my attention because it did not allow a patient seeking reproductive health care to use telehealth.

Robyn Elliot, the lobbyist for Planned Parenthood, contacted me last fall in my capacity as House chair of the committee that reviews proposed regulations.

It soon became apparent that a host of health providers and advocacy groups supported broader access for patients with telehealth.

The intent of House Bill 448 was to assist patients who are home bound or whose schedules keep them from making regular office hours.

No one thought that it would be needed because the coronavirus would necessitate hospitals excluding non-emergency patients and doctors closing their offices.

The original bill would have taken effect on July 1. As the pandemic worsened, we adopted an amendment to make it an emergency bill.

It will take effect this afternoon when signed by Governor Hogan, President Ferguson, and Speaker Jones.

I don’t make a big deal out of bill signings. I have photos on my office walls from only two – my very first bill in 1983 and the repeal of the death penalty in 2013.

Legislators will not be allowed at today’s signing. I’ve asked for a pen that was used to sign House Bill 448.