The Division would like to notify interested stakeholders that the Commissioner of Insurance has adopted the following emergency regulation:
The purpose of this emergency regulation is to require carriers to reimburse providers for provision of telehealth services using non-public facing audio or video communication products during the COVID-19 nationwide public health emergency.
On March 17, 2020, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) announced that it will waive potential Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) penalties for good faith use of telehealth during the nationwide public health emergency due to COVID-19. OCR is exercising its enforcement discretion to not impose penalties for noncompliance with the HIPAA Rules in connection with the good faith provision of telehealth using such non-public facing audio or video communication products during the COVID-19 nationwide public health emergency. This exercise of discretion applies to telehealth provided for any reason, regardless of whether the telehealth service is related to the diagnosis and treatment of health conditions related to COVID-19.
On March 11, 2020, Governor Polis issued Executive Order D 2020 003 declaring a disaster emergency due to the presence of COVID-19 in Colorado. On April 1, 2020, Governor Polis issued Executive Order D 2020 020 (“Order”) ordering the temporary suspension of certain provisions of § 10-16-123, C.R.S., to expand the use of telehealth, whenever possible, to protect the public health and mitigate exposure to and the spread of COVID-19. The Order authorizes the Commissioner of Insurance to adopt emergency regulations related to telehealth during the COVID-19 public health emergency. This regulation shall remain in effect for 120 days or as long as the Governor’s Emergency Declaration is in effect, whichever is shorter.
The Division of Insurance finds, pursuant to § 24-4-103(6)(a), C.R.S., that immediate adoption of this regulation is imperatively necessary for the preservation of public health, safety, or welfare as allowing individuals broader access to telehealth services during the COVID-19 public emergency is imperative to preserve the health of the citizens of Colorado. Therefore, compliance with the requirements of § 24-4-103, C.R.S., would be contrary to the public interest.
This emergency regulation, and other Division emergency regulations, can be found on the Divisions website via the following link.
Division of Insurance Emergency Regulations
Additional information on insurance and the COVID-19 public health emergency can be found on the Division website vial the following link.