Governor Pritzker issued an executive order expanding telehealth services requiring Illinois insurance companies to pay for speech, physical and occupational therapies performed via telehealth, beginning March 19, 2020 and to continue through the gubernatorial proclamation.

Telehealth has provided children a platform to continue receiving vital therapeutic services in order to achieve their treatment goals and has prevented loss of hard earned skills. This platform has proven to be an extremely successful vehicle to continue to provide these much needed services in the safest and most efficient manner.

Currently, it is understood that the insurance companies will continue to pay for the above mentioned telehealth with an end date as follows:  Blue Cross Blue Shield 5/31/2020, United Healthcare  6/18/2020, Cigna 5/31/2020 and Aetna 6/4/2020.

Should telehealth coverage not be extended beyond May 30, 2020 and services returned to the clinic setting, families will be forced to decide whether to stop services and risk the loss of skills in their child or to enter the clinic to receive services and risk possible infection.

Aside from the negative outcome for children and families, thousands of small therapeutic clinics will be further impacted. Without the option of teletherapy and with many parents choosing to remain at home, clinics will be unable to retain staff and keep their doors open.

As providers to children as young as newborn, we urge Governor Pritzker to extend the executive order requiring insurance companies to continue covering telehealth services through 12/31/20. Many individuals seen for therapeutic services are medically fragile or have developmental and or intellectual disabilities which may place them at greater risk of contracting CoVid-19. These children may either suffer the effects of CoVid-19 or be carriers of the disease, inadvertently exposing both individuals in their home and of those in the clinic who have cared for them.