ERIC Urges Flexibility as Arkansas State Medical Board Considers Telemedicine Regulations

The ERISA Industry Committee comments as Board nears new rulemaking impacting workers

For Immediate Release

Washington, DC – The business group representing the employee benefits interests of large employers is today urging the Arkansas State Medical Board (ASMB) to adopt four standards as it moves to impose new telemedicine regulations.

The ERISA Industry Committee (ERIC), the only national trade association advocating solely for the employee benefit and compensation interests of America’s largest employers in the U.S., petitioned the ASMB’s Telemedicine Advisory Committee.

In a letter, ERIC recommends the Board adopt regulations that allow for a variety of technological solutions, limit additional requirements on providers, avoid restrictions that lock patients into visiting only certain sites for medical services, and make rules patient-centric, giving patients expanded access to care through telemedicine visits and remote monitoring of their health conditions.

“For patients from the Ozarks to the underserved neighborhoods in Little Rock, we believe telemedicine offers great promise expanding access to care and treatment.  We urge the Arkansas State Medical Board to knock down restrictive barriers to quality care for all patients,” says Annette Guarisco Fildes, president and CEO of ERIC.

She adds that, “telemedicine provides a bridge so that working families can more easily attend to their important medical needs, or those of a loved one, while also minimizing time spent away from work.”

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All media inquiries to The ERISA Industry Committee should be directed to media@eric.org.

About The ERISA Industry Committee
ERIC is a national advocacy organization that exclusively represents large employers that provide health, retirement, paid leave, and other benefits to their nationwide workforces. With member companies that are leaders in every sector of the economy, ERIC advocates on the federal, state, and local levels for policies that promote flexibility and uniformity in the administration of their employee benefit plans.