For Immediate Release
Washington, DC – The ERISA Industry Committee (ERIC) submitted new written testimony to the New Jersey General Assembly Appropriations Committee pulling its support for telehealth legislation – Assembly Committee Substitute for Assembly Bill 1464 (ACS 1464).
ERIC, the only national association that advocates exclusively for large employers on health, retirement, and compensation public policies at the state, federal, and local levels, had previously supported ACS 1464, but an addition to the bill causes the provision allowing the patient-provider relationship to be established via telemedicine to expire after three years. This change to the bill creates a major impediment to patients who wish to use telemedicine and actually makes the legislation worse than the status quo. Policy changes should always be focused on expanding access to telemedicine and preventing artificial barriers to care.
“ERIC calls on New Jersey lawmakers to remove the sunset provision before advancing ACS 1464,” said Adam Greathouse, Health Policy Associate, ERIC. “Telemedicine offers a significant opportunity to modernize health care delivery and improve access to quality medical care for workers and their dependents, but this added provision would end that access to care for many residents in New Jersey.”