Arkansas Telehealth Bill May Strand Rural Users, Teladoc Warns
A bill to update Arkansas telehealth rules could leave behind rural residents with slow internet connections, Teladoc said. The Legislature Thursday sent SB-146 by Sen. Cecilie Bledsoe (R) to Gov. Asa Hutchinson (R) for his signature. Teladoc previously complained that…
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Arkansas telehealth rules kept it from operating in the state, and advocated for state legislation (see 1701060017). “The bill in Arkansas represents an important step in the right direction,” a spokeswoman emailed Friday. “But this bill remains significantly inadequate: it requires a video interaction for the first remote visit -- even where not medically indicated. The result is that access is needlessly restricted. Areas of the state without reliable, wired broadband will not have access to telemedicine.” Bledsoe didn’t comment.