Governor Vetoes Telemedicine Bill, GOP Senators Upset

HARRISBURG – Gov. Tom Wolf on Wednesday vetoed Senate Bill 857, a telemedicine bill that passed the Senate unanimously last year before being amended to what the governor called “an untenable version” last week in the House.

“I supported a prior printer’s number of the bill, but as amended in the House of Representatives, this legislation arbitrarily restricts the use of telemedicine for certain doctor-patient interactions,” Gov. Wolf said. “As amended, this bill interferes with women’s health care and the crucial decision-making between patients and their physicians.”

State Senate Republicans took exception to what they said was a veto of a measure providing “life-saving medicine to millions of Pennsylvanians.” Senate President Pro Tem Joe Scarnati (R-25), Senate Majority Leader Jake Corman (R-34) and Senator Elder Vogel (R-47) called the veto “purely partisan.”

According to a GOP release, Gov. Wolf had indicated that his objections to the bill are centered on language that said drugs on the FDA’s Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategies list must be administered in-person, in a clinical setting. One of those drugs is an abortion drug.

While Senate Bill 857 makes substantial changes in the health care industry, physicians and other health practitioners delivering telemedicine services would still be required to follow standard state licensure and medical practice laws and requirements in Pennsylvania, the release said.

COVID-19 changed the landscape for medicine in Pennsylvania. Many routine in-office services are not available for patients. Telemedicine can vastly improve the availability of healthcare options for people in rural or urban areas.

The bill is supported by the Hospital and Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania, the Pennsylvania Medical Society and AARP.

In addition to the telemedicine bill veto, the governor released cross-agency guidance on telehealth, citing its importance as a health care delivery option during COVID-19 and as providing it pertains to his authority under the Disaster Declaration signed in early March.

Given the potential for widespread transmission of COVID-19 across Pennsylvania and to limit its spread, many health care providers and patients are expanding use of telehealth rather than in-person health care services.

Gov. Wolf announced cross-agency guidance on steps taken to ensure that patients in need of vital health care services are receiving them in a timely, appropriate manner. Multiple state agencies are involved in providing expanded telehealth services, including the departments of State, Health, Drug and Alcohol Programs, Human Services and the Insurance Department.