HB 7087-Relating to Telehealth
On Monday, February 8th, HB 7087, relating to Telehealth, by House Select Committee on Affordable Healthcare Access and Rep. Chris Sprowls (R-Clearwater) was heard by the House Health Care Appropriations Subcommittee and passed by a vote of 9 yeas and 0 nays. AIF’s General Counsel, Tammy Perdue, stood in support of this bill.

The bill would authorize Florida licensed health care providers to use telehealth to deliver services within their scopes of practice.  It would also allow out-of-state providers to deliver services through telehealth to Florida patients if they register with the Department of Health (DOH) or the applicable board, meet specific eligibility requirements, and pay an established fee. The out of state telehealth provider would be prohibited from opening an office in Florida and from providing in-person health care services to patients located in the state. 

Additionally, a telehealth provider would be required to conduct an in-person physical exam prior to providing services through telehealth, unless the provider is capable of conducting a patient evaluation in a manner consistent with the applicable standard of care sufficient to diagnose and treat the patient when using telehealth.

HB 7087 was previously filed as SCAHA1 which was heard and passed by the House Select Committee on Affordable Healthcare Access. This bill has been referred to two committees now that it has been filed as HB 7087. The next and final committee stop for HB 7087 will be in the House Health & Human Services Committee.

AIF supports legislation that permits an unfettered role for telehealth services that will allow our citizens access to better quality care at lower costs.