Johns Hopkins Medicine and ATA Launch Interstate Telehealth Initiative
Johns Hopkins Medicine and the American Telemedicine Association (ATA) have launched a new national initiative aimed at reducing state licensure barriers that limit telehealth access across state lines in the United States.
The initiative, called LIFTT (Licensure Innovation for Telehealth Transformation), is a three-year effort focused on promoting legislative reforms that would make it easier for healthcare providers to deliver telehealth services to patients in different states.
Addressing Interstate Telehealth Barriers
Currently, U.S. regulations require doctors to be licensed in the state where the patient is located at the time of the telehealth visit. This means physicians who want to treat patients across multiple states must obtain and maintain multiple state licenses, which can be time-consuming and expensive.
According to Johns Hopkins and the ATA, these licensing rules create barriers to care, especially for patients who need specialized treatment that may not be available in their home state. Groups most affected include patients with rare diseases or cancer, transplant recipients, college students living out of state, rural patients, clinical trial participants, and individuals needing mental health or palliative care services.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, temporary emergency policies allowed doctors to provide telehealth services across state lines more easily. However, many of those temporary rules have expired, and states have returned to stricter licensing requirements.
Federal and State Collaboration
The LIFTT initiative does not aim to replace state licensing systems but instead proposes targeted federal solutions that would complement state oversight while allowing certain types of telehealth care to be delivered across state lines more easily.
The initiative will focus on educating policymakers, mobilizing healthcare organizations, and raising public awareness about the need for telehealth licensure reform. The goal is to create a more consistent national framework for telehealth access while still preserving state authority over healthcare regulation and standards of care.
Expanding Access to Specialized Care
Healthcare leaders say interstate telehealth reform is particularly important for patients who need access to highly specialized care from major academic medical centers. In many cases, patients must travel long distances to receive care because specialists cannot legally provide telehealth services across state lines without additional licenses.
By reducing licensure barriers, the initiative aims to improve access to specialized care, expand telehealth services in rural areas, and support continuity of care for patients who move between states for work, education, or treatment.
A Broader Telehealth Policy Push
The LIFTT initiative is part of a broader effort by healthcare organizations and policymakers to modernize telehealth regulations in the United States. Over the past decade, there has been gradual progress in telehealth policy reform, but most changes still require state-by-state approval.
Leaders from both organizations say federal involvement could help create a more cohesive national telehealth strategy while still allowing states to maintain regulatory oversight.
The initiative will run for three years and is expected to involve healthcare systems, policymakers, and industry groups working together to develop policy solutions that expand telehealth access while maintaining patient safety and care quality.
