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CONTACT: Badger Institute Policy Analyst Julie Grace:
julie@badgerinstitute.org or 330-410-6212
Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Wisconsin has temporarily allowed hundreds of medical professionals from other states to practice telehealth without first obtaining a state license. This means that a qualified health care professional licensed in Illinois, Minnesota or any other state can serve Wisconsinites through remote care — a dramatic policy change that likely has benefited thousands of Badger State patients.
Applicants must have a valid license in another state, cannot be under investigation and must stay within their scope of practice. The number of out-of-state health care workers who have taken advantage of the policy change shows that it is working and should be made permanent.
Wisconsin received 556 requests from out-of-state medical providers to practice telehealth between March 27 and Oct. 31, according to the Department of Safety and Professional Services (DSPS), the state agency that receives and processes professional licensing applications. All 556 — which were submitted by 44 different medical employers as well as a handful of individual practitioners — were approved by DSPS.
More than 200 of these professionals were doctors, but mental health providers — including nearly 40 social workers, 44 psychologists and 14 therapists — were also among the applicants. Other medical professionals who have served Wisconsinites through telehealth under the temporary policy change include physical therapists, chiropractors and nurses.
Many were from neighboring Minnesota, but other providers were from Texas, Ohio, Illinois, Arizona and elsewhere across the country.
It is too early to definitively measure the impact that these professionals have had on Wisconsinites seeking health care, including patients battling COVID-19, those with underlying health conditions who can’t visit a doctor in person or those struggling with mental health issues. But based on the data, it’s clear that Wisconsin residents have been better served in recent months with the additional 556 medical professionals providing quality care to patients who don’t have to leave their home.
Given advancements in technology and the likelihood that COVID-19 will continue to have a long-term impact on the health care system, state policymakers should make this now-temporary practice permanent.
Read the full brief here.
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