ATA-Johns Hopkins Initiative Seeks to Overcome State Licensure Hurdles

The American Telemedicine Association (ATA), in collaboration with Johns Hopkins Medicine, today announced a three-year initiative to advance understanding and legislative action to reduce state licensure hurdles and expand nationwide telehealth access through federal solutions that complement, rather than replace, state-based licensure and oversight. 

The LIFTT (Licensure Innovation for Telehealth Transformation) Initiative aims to educate the public on the need for federal reforms to improve telehealth access nationwide. While state licensure frameworks remain the foundation of medical regulation, ATA said that LIFTT focuses on pragmatic federal solutions that address specific gaps, such as continuity of care and access to rare expertise, where what it claims are overly rigid state-by-state requirements can unintentionally restrict patient access to appropriate and necessary healthcare. 

“A specialist who wishes to treat patients across state lines needs to invest countless hours and thousands of dollars in obtaining and maintaining multiple licenses, often just to see a limited number of patients for continuity of care purposes in each state,” said Helen Hughes, M.D., M.P.H., medical director of Johns Hopkins Medicine’s Office of Telemedicine, in a statement. "These licensure restrictions create unnecessary burdens for patients, including people with rare diseases and cancers, college students who live out of state for school, transplant recipients, patients who need palliative care or mental health services, and those living in rural areas. LIFTT will mobilize supporters, inform policymakers, and engage health systems to enhance our national strategy for interstate telehealth on behalf of patients nationwide. The ATA has been a driving force in promoting telehealth at both the federal and state levels. We are thrilled to partner to transform telehealth through targeted federal licensure solutions.” 

Indeed, on March 30 Healthcare Innovation wrote about a virtual curbside consult program being used by primary care providers in rural Maine. Community Care Partnership of Maine’s Mary Butler Fleming said her organization is planning to pilot direct telehealth visits via the PicassoMD platform later this year for some of the specialties in highest demand, but added that there are issues of licensing and credentialing that have to be worked through first. 

Despite federal guidance, only a handful of states have adopted exceptions to restrictive telehealth licensure rules. The ATA and Johns Hopkins Medicine said they seek to support and reinforce state regulation with targeted federal pathways that enable essential care to be delivered across state lines, while fully preserving state standards of care and enforcement authority.

“State-specific licensure rules restrict patients from accessing essential healthcare services, especially specialized care, and create unnecessary obstacles to cross-state collaboration. Federal oversight can establish a cohesive strategy for telehealth access nationwide, while respecting local governance structures,” added Kyle Zebley, CEO of the ATA, in a statement. “Our approach is intentionally narrow yet highly meaningful: targeted federal allowances in exceptional circumstances, paired with respect for state licensure, accountability, and disciplinary authority.”