Map of State Laws Impacting Telehealth for Medication Abortion Care (TMAB)

GLOSSARY

  • Telehealth: Telehealth enables health care providers to treat patients virtually without an in-person appointment. Patients can connect directly with a health care provider from any location and this can be done in a variety of ways, including via live video (“synchronous”), the phone, secured chat (“asynchronous”), and other telecommunications. This can be delivered direct-to-patient, site-to-site, or via hybrid in-person/virtual care.

  • Telehealth for Medication Abortion (“TMAB”): Medication abortion is prescribed through a telehealth visit via a phone and/or video with a provider, this can be direct-to-patient, site-to-site, or through a hybrid in-person/virtual care experience.

  • Expanded TMAB Provision Protections: A state statute and/or other law or policy (sometimes referred to as “Shield Laws”) that prescribes additional protections for providers and/or other persons or entities involved in facilitating an individual’s access to telehealth for medication abortion services. State protections vary in scope and may include protections against professional licensure consequences, sharing information or data with out-of-state investigators or law enforcement agencies, and malpractice insurance coverage loss.

  • Ultrasound Requirement: A state-mandated requirement that a patient receive an ultrasound before abortion care, regardless of the health care provider’s medical recommendation.

  • Medicaid: Medicaid is a joint federal and state program that helps cover medical costs for some people with limited income and resources. Federal guidelines require all states to follow certain Medicaid guidelines, but each state has flexibility in designing and administrating its programs. As a result, eligibility requirements and benefits vary widely from state to state.

  • RH Testing Requirements: A state-mandated requirement that a patient undergoes blood testing and treatment for Rhesus (Rh) factor, a protein found in red blood cells, regardless of medical recommendation.

  • In-Person Visit Requirements: State-mandated requirements that a patient is physically present with their health care provider during certain stages in the abortion care process, regardless of medical recommendation.

  • Implicit TMAB Provision: State-mandated requirements, typically including an in-person visit requirement, that effectively inhibits a provider from offering telehealth-only medication abortion, regardless of medical recommendation.

  • Explicit TMAB Provision: State-mandated laws banning abortion provision through telehealth services.

Glossary

HIGHLIGHTS

Overall Classification

  • Abortion Provision Prohibited: 14 states and 2 territories (Alabama, Arkansas, Idaho, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, West Virginia, American Samoa, Northern Marianas), which effectively bans the provision of TMAB

  • TMAB Provision Prohibited: an additional 11 states and 1 territory (Alaska, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Nebraska, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina, Utah, Wisconsin, Virgin Islands) either explicitly or effectively ban the provision of TMAB

  • TMAB Provision Permitted: 8 states and 2 territories (Kansas, Michigan, Montana, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Virginia, Wyoming, Guam, Puerto Rico)

  • Expanded Protections for TMAB Provision: 17 states and the District of Columbia (California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Mexico, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Vermont, Washington)


Specific Classification

  • Explicit TMAB Ban: 18 states (Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, West Virginia, Wisconsin)

  • Implicit TMAB Ban: 7 states and 1 territory (Alaska, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, North Carolina, Ohio, Utah, Virgin Islands)

  • All Virtual Permitted: 25 states, the District of Columbia, and 2 territories (California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, Wyoming, Guam, Puerto Rico)

Highlights

Table

TABLE

Key

⏺ = All Virtual Permitted

▶ = Explicit TMAB Prohibition
▷ = Implicit TMAB Prohibition

◾ = Protections for TMAB provider extend when the patient is not physically located in the state at the time of care
◻ = Protections for TMAB provider are contingent on the patient’s physical location in the state at the time of care

State or Territory

Abortion Provision Prohibited

TMAB Provision Prohibited

TMAB Provision Permitted

Expanded Protections for TMAB Provision

State Medicaid Coverage for Abortion Prohibited

State Medicaid Coverage for Abortion Permitted

Alabama

▶

X

Alaska

▷

X

Arizona

▶

X

Arkansas

▶

X

California

⏺ ◾

X

Colorado

⏺ ◾

X

Connecticut

⏺ ◻

X

Delaware

⏺ ◻

X

District of Columbia

⏺ ◻

X

Florida

▶

X

Georgia

▷

X

Hawaii

⏺ ◻

X

Idaho

▷

X

Illinois

⏺ ◻

X

Indiana

▶

X

Iowa

▷

X

Kansas

⏺

X

Kentucky

▶

X

Louisiana

▶

X

Maine

⏺ ◻

X

Maryland

⏺ ◻

X

Massachusetts

⏺ ◾

X

Michigan

⏺

X

Minnesota

⏺ ◻

X

Mississippi

▶

X

Missouri

▶

X

Montana

⏺

X

Nebraska

▶

X

Nevada

⏺ ◻

X

New Hampshire

⏺

X

New Jersey

⏺ ◻

X

New Mexico

⏺ ◻

X

New York

⏺ ◾

X

North Carolina

▷

X

North Dakota

▶

X

Ohio

▷

X

Oklahoma

▶

X

Oregon

⏺ ◻

X

Pennsylvania

⏺

X

Rhode Island

⏺

X

South Carolina

▶

X

South Dakota

▶

X

Tennessee

▶

X

Texas

▶

X

Utah

▷

X

Vermont

⏺ ◾

X

Virginia

⏺

X

Washington

⏺ ◾

X

West Virginia

▶

X

Wisconsin

▶

X

Wyoming

⏺

X

American Samoa

X

Guam

⏺

Northern Marianas

X

Puerto Rico

⏺

Virgin Islands

▷