Trending In Telehealth: July 2026

Overview

Trending in Telehealth highlights monthly state legislative and regulatory developments that impact the healthcare providers, telehealth and digital health companies, pharmacists, and technology companies that deliver and facilitate the delivery of virtual care.

Trending in July:

• Telehealth reimbursement and payment parity
• Remote patient monitoring and maternal health coverage
• Telemedicine prescribing of controlled substances
• Telehealth practice standards and clinical supervision

In depth

A CLOSER LOOK

Proposed and finalized legislation and rulemaking:

• Tennessee’s Board of Professional Counselors, Marital and Family Therapists, and Clinical Pastoral Therapists proposed Rule 13397. If adopted, it would permit 100% of supervision hours to be conducted via telehealth, define direct client contact to include face-to-face live or telehealth clinical activity, and require that a qualifying clinical setting have at least one licensed mental health professional who is available to the applicant for consultation and engaged in counseling, whether face-to-face or via telehealth, for a cumulative minimum of 20 hours per week.
• Alaska HB 14 became law in July. The statute requires healthcare insurers to reimburse providers for healthcare services, including behavioral health services, provided through telehealth on the same basis and at least at the same rate as comparable healthcare services provided in person. The bill allows insurers to implement a geographic pay differential to reimburse out-of-state providers.
• In Washington, DC, Bill 26-0356, the Prenatal and Postpartum Remote Patient Monitoring Clarification Amendment Act of 2025, became law in July. The law amends the Telehealth Reimbursement Act of 2013 to include coverage and reimbursement for remote monitoring of blood pressure and blood glucose levels during pregnancy and up to 12 months postpartum. The bill was passed subject to appropriations, so its coverage requirements will not take effect until it is funded in the district’s budget and financial plan.
• New Jersey enacted AB 4852 to amend NJSA 45:1-62, allowing Schedule II controlled substances to be prescribed via telemedicine without an in-person examination for certain patient populations, including patients in active cancer treatment, hospice or palliative care, long-term care facilities, medical cannabis-related evaluation or treatment, or substance use disorder treatment. For adult stimulant prescriptions, the bill requires an initial examination (with an in-person visit within 30 days if the initial examination is conducted remotely), in-person or telehealth follow-up contact every three months, and at least one in-person visit annually. All such telemedicine prescribing must use real-time, two-way audio-visual technology and must meet the same standard of care as in-person treatment.
• Missouri enacted HB 2372 to amend how a physician-patient relationship may be established through telemedicine. The law requires an in-person physical examination only where the standard of care demands one and permits a patient-completed internet or telephone questionnaire to serve as the basis for treatment if the questionnaire is reviewed by the treating healthcare professional and provides information sufficient to substitute for an in-person evaluation. A provider who uses such a questionnaire must be employed by or contracted with a business entity licensed to provide healthcare in Missouri and must send a written report of the evaluation to the patient’s primary care provider, if the patient identifies one, within 14 days.

Why it matters:

• States are pairing telehealth flexibility with tighter guardrails. Lawmakers are relaxing in-person examination requirements for establishing provider-patient relationships and prescribing controlled substances, while adding targeted safeguards such as modality requirements, follow-up intervals, and periodic in-person visits.
• Payment parity and coverage continue to expand in scope. States are extending reimbursement parity to behavioral health services and adding coverage for new modalities such as remote patient monitoring, reflecting efforts to broaden access while maintaining cost oversight.
• Telehealth is being woven into licensure and training pathways. Regulators are beginning to recognize supervision hours and clinical contact conducted via telehealth toward licensure requirements, with significant implications for the behavioral health workforce.

Telehealth is an important development in care delivery, but the regulatory patchwork is complicated. The McDermott Will & Schulte digital health team works alongside the industry’s leading providers, payors, and technology innovators to help them enter new markets, break down barriers to delivering accessible care, and mitigate enforcement risk through proactive compliance.