The American Telemedicine Association (ATA) recently announced a partnership with three minority legislative caucuses to educate lawmakers and introduce model legislation for telehealth in statehouses around the country. ATA’s partnership, with the National Organization of Black Elected Legislative Women (NOBEL), the National Black Caucus of State Legislators (NBCSL) and the National Hispanic Caucus of State Legislators (NHCSL), is aiming maximize state-government support of telemedicine.

 “This collaboration builds on the great work already being done to advance telemedicine in forward-thinking state legislatures,” Jonathan Linkous, CEO of the American Telemedicine Association, said in a statement “States are often the true innovators in developing policies, regulations and payment mechanisms in support of telemedicine. We’re using the outcomes evidence and lessons learned from these cases to show all state governments how telemedicine can improve the quality of healthcare, increase access, and reduce costs.”

ATA says these three groups can help it focus on developing state-specific policies across the country while acting as representatives for minority populations. Linkous predicts telemedicine can help alleviate chronic healthcare shortages in urban and rural areas. Already, ATA says it has helped develop state-specific telemedicine policy, including mandated payer reimbursement.