Modifies current law to require the reimbursement of medical services received online from a qualified medical provider.   Official Text and Analysis.

Allows reimbursement for telemedicine only if: the plan provides coverage of the health care service when provided in person by the provider; the health care service is medically necessary; and the health care service does not duplicate or supplant a health care service that is available in person; provides a nonexhaustive list of example originating sites: hospitals, rural health clinics, federally qualified health centers, physicians' offices, community mental health centers, skilled nursing facilities, rural dialysis centers, and sites where public health services are provided; prohibits carriers/plans from distinguishing between rural and urban originating sites; allows carriers/plans to subject telemedicine services to all the terms and conditions of the plan that are applicable to in-person services; states that carriers/plans are not required to reimburse a provider for services that are not a covered benefit or to reimburse providers who are not covered providers; and gives the bill an effective date of January 1, 2014.

Clarifies that the exclusions from the definition of "telemedicine" only apply to the health plan reimbursement provisions in the underlying legislation. Requires the Medical Quality Assurance Commission (MQAC), the Nursing Care Quality Assurance Commission (NCQAC), and the Board of Osteopathic Medicine and Surgery (BOMS)to develop policies allowing out-of-state health care providers to deliver telemedicine services to Washington residents. Requires the policies to ensure the quality of services delivered and the safety of patients receiving telemedicine services. Requires the MQAC, NCQAC, and BOMS to meet throughout the year to coordinate their efforts and requires the Department of Health to submit a progress report by December 15, 2013. Makes the section of law requiring the development of the policies effective 90 days after the session in which adopted (the remainder of the underlying legislation takes effect January 1, 2014).

Requires a health plan to reimburse an originating site for the infrastructure and preparation of the patient for the telemedicine service. Allows a health plan to deny coverage to the originating site for professional fees. Narrows the definition of "originating site" to include only a site that prepares the patient for the telemedicine services and provides the infrastructure for the telemedicine services to occur. Allows a health plan to subject telemedicine services to utilization review.

Removes the requirement that reimbursement for telemedicine services be provided on the same basis and at the same rate as the same services provided through in-person contact.

Requires health carriers to reimburse for services provided via telemedicine in the same manner they reimburse for in-person services. Allows hospitals to rely on the privileging decisions of another hospital when services are being provided via telemedicine.

(1)removes the requirement that telemedicine services be reimbursed on the same basis and at the same rate as in-person services. (2) Removes the prohibition against reimbursed telemedicine service duplicating or supplanting a health care service that is available inperson. (3) Removes the requirement that a plan reimburse an originating site for the infrastructure and preparation of the patient; instead, allows an originating site to charge a facility fee for infrastructure and preparation of the patient and allows reimbursement to be subject to a negotiated agreement. (4) Prohibits a site other than an originating site from charging a facility fee. (5) Allows health plans to subject telemedicine to prior authorization. (6) Provides a definition of "distant site": The site at which a physician or other licensed provider, delivering a professional service, is physically located at the time the service is provided through telemedicine. (7) Narrows the definition of "telemedicine" to include only audio and video (as opposed to audio or video) permitting real-time communication between the patient at the originating site and the provider. (8) Removes sites where public health services are provided from the list of "originating sites." (9) Removes independent renal dialysis facilities from the list of "originating sites." (10) Adds other health care providers' offices to the list of "originating sites." (11) Broadens the definition of "originating site" by removing the requirement that the site prepare the patient for telemedicine services and provide the infrastructure for the telemedicine services to occur. (12) Makes the requirement to reimburse for telemedicine services applicable to medicaid managed care plans. (13) Removes the requirement that the Medical Quality Assurance Commission (MQAC), the Nursing Care Quality Assurance Commission (NCQAC), and the Board of Osteopathic Medicine and Surgery (BOMS) must develop policies to allow out-of-state health care providers to deliver telemedicine services to Washington residents; instead, requires the MQAC, the NCQAC, and the BOMS to inform the health committees of the legislature on recommended or adopted criteria under which health careproviders from outside of Washington would be permitted to deliver telemedicine services to Washington residents that will ensure the quality of services delivered and the safety of the patient receiving the services. (14) Requires the MQAC, the NCQAC, and the BOMS to report their progress to the legislature by December 1, 2014. (15) States that the legislature encourages plans to adopt the telemedicine requirements early and clarifies that nothing in the act prohibits plans from adopting the requirements prior to January 1, 2016.