(1) On or after July 1, 2006, in-person contact between a health care or mental health care provider and a patient shall not be required under the state's medical assistance program for health care or mental health care services delivered through telemedicine that are otherwise eligible for reimbursement under the program. The services shall be subject to reimbursement policies developed pursuant to the medical assistance program. This section also applies to managed care organizations that contract with the state department pursuant to the statewide managed care system only to the extent that:

(a) Health care or mental health care services delivered through telemedicine are covered by and reimbursed under the medicaid per diem payment program; and

(b) Managed care contracts with managed care organizations are amended to add coverage of health care or mental health care services delivered through telemedicine and any appropriate per diem rate adjustments are incorporated.

(2) The reimbursement rate for a telemedicine service shall, as a minimum, be set at the same rate as the medical assistance program rate for a comparable in-person service. The state department may consider setting the reimbursement rate on a monthly basis as well as on a daily or per-visit basis.

(3) The state department shall establish rates for transmission cost reimbursement for telemedicine services, considering, to the extent applicable, reductions in travel costs by health care or mental health care providers and patients to deliver or to access such services and such other factors as the state department deems relevant.

(4) A health care or mental health care provider who delivers health care or mental health care services through telemedicine shall provide to each patient, before treating that patient through telemedicine for the first time, the following written statements:

(a) That the patient retains the option to refuse the delivery of the services via telemedicine at any time without affecting the patient's right to future care or treatment and without risking the loss or withdrawalof any program benefits to which the patient would otherwise be entitled;

(b) That all applicable confidentiality protections shall apply to the services; and

(c) That the patient shall have access to all medical information resulting from the telemedicine services as provided by applicable law for patient access to his or her medical records.

(5) Subsection (4) of this section shall not apply in an emergency.