“If it’s a covered service, then the insurance company should pay for it, whether it is electronically delivered or a face-to-face delivery,” said attorney Michael Keeling. Keeling was referring to recently passed Arizona legislation (Arizona Senate Bill 1353) that puts telemedicine on a level playing field with health care delivered in person. He points out that telemedicine is of four economic drivers (education, economic development and first-responders) for rural broadband.

He indicates an uptake in telemedicine in the 15 states where this sort of parity legislation has already passed. Although this rule is meant to improve the efficiency of health-care delivery, it can also mean the difference life and death in areas where the nearest specialist might be hours away. He points to Mayo Clinic research that shows the benefits of diagnosing stroke victims remotely via a combination of telecommunications and robots.

2013 Broadband Communities Summit coverage brought to you by the Matrix Design Group and M3 Multifamily Media Management.