Texas health assistance program set to fold

The TEXAS Consumer Health Assistance Program, which helps consumers find affordable health insurance, is expected to close due to lack of federal funding. Staffers operate a hotline and host events around the state to make Texans more aware of coverage options. Funding for the program and similar ones in other states was provided as part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act but has fallen victim to congressional budget squabbling.

Telemedicine is thriving in GEORGIA. The Georgia Partnership for Telehealth Network has expanded to include nursing homes, emergency departments, school clinics, primary care, and other providers with 175 physicians in 40 specialties. Telemedicine sessions rose to more than 40,000 in 2011 from 200 in 2006. In 2005, the state passed a rule requiring insurers to reimburse providers for telemedicine sessions at the same levels as for office visits. That rule, along with gains in technology, boosted the spread of telemedicine.