Connecticut Telehealth Laws: Providers, Consent, and Coverage

Connecticut’s telehealth laws are anchored in Section 19a-906 of the Connecticut General Statutes, which defines telehealth, lists the licensed professionals who can deliver it, requires informed consent, sets prescribing limits, mandates insurance parity, and bans facility fees.¹ Most of the flexibilities introduced during the pandemic are now permanent, and the state has joined several interstate licensure compacts that let qualifying out-of-state providers treat Connecticut patients. The Department of Public Health licenses practitioners and investigates complaints; the Connecticut Insurance Department polices coverage; and the Attorney General’s Privacy and Data Security Section handles HIPAA breaches involving state residents.

Who Can Provide Telehealth in Connecticut

The statute authorizes a broad list of licensed professionals to practice by telehealth. It covers physicians, physician assistants, advanced practice registered nurses, psychologists, clinical and master social workers, professional counselors, marital and family therapists, pharmacists, physical therapists, occupational therapists, chiropractors, dentists, optometrists, speech-language pathologists, audiologists, dietitian-nutritionists, respiratory care practitioners, and paramedics, among others.¹ The 2023 permanent expansion added art therapists, athletic trainers, behavior analysts, genetic counselors, music therapists, nurse-midwives, and occupational and physical therapist assistants.²

Every provider must hold an active, unrestricted Connecticut license and practice within their scope. The standard of care matches an in-person visit. When a physical exam or diagnostic test is needed, the provider may use peripheral devices appropriate to the patient’s condition instead of hands-on examination.¹ Falling below that standard, or letting licensure lapse, can trigger suspension or revocation.³

What Counts as Telehealth

Three technology categories qualify: synchronous real-time video or audio, asynchronous store-and-forward transfers, and remote patient monitoring. Fax, text messages, and email are expressly excluded from the definition.¹

Audio-only telephone consultations are now permanently authorized for in-network providers under commercial insurance and for Medicaid providers under the Connecticut Medical Assistance Program.² For HUSKY Health audio-only visits, additional conditions apply: the service must be clinically appropriate, the patient must be an established patient with an in-person visit within the prior 12 months, comparable audiovisual telehealth must be unavailable or inaccessible to the patient, and the provider must document that an in-person or video appointment was offered and declined. Providers using consumer video applications like FaceTime may do so only in line with federal HIPAA guidance on remote communications.⁴

Informed Consent Rules

Before treatment starts, the provider must obtain the patient’s informed consent. That includes explaining what telehealth is, its benefits and limits compared with in-person care, and any constraints on remote diagnosis or treatment. If the session will be recorded, the provider must disclose that and how the recording will be used.¹

Patients can refuse telehealth or withdraw consent at any point without losing access to in-person care. For minors and adults who lack decision-making capacity, a parent, legal guardian, or authorized representative must consent. At each telehealth interaction, the provider must also ask the patient for consent to share records of that encounter with the patient’s primary care provider.⁵

Prescribing Controlled Substances by Telehealth

State law tightly limits which controlled substances can be prescribed remotely. Schedule I substances cannot be prescribed via telehealth at all. Schedule II and III substances can be prescribed remotely only if they are non-opioid medications used to treat a psychiatric disability or substance use disorder, including medication-assisted treatment. The prescription must comply with the federal Ryan Haight Act and must be transmitted electronically.⁶ Schedule IV and V substances may be prescribed through telehealth without those Schedule II/III restrictions.

Federally, the DEA has extended its pandemic-era flexibility allowing practitioners to prescribe Schedule II through V substances by telehealth without a prior in-person medical evaluation. That temporary rule runs through December 31, 2026, so long as the practitioner is DEA-registered, the prescription serves a legitimate medical purpose, and the encounter uses real-time interactive audio-video technology.⁷ Once that extension ends, the Ryan Haight Act’s standard in-person evaluation requirement will likely return for new patients.

Privacy, Security, and Medical Records

Telehealth services and records must comply with HIPAA. Providers are responsible for using secure platforms for video, messaging, and electronic records, and must maintain and disclose records of each telehealth interaction.⁴ Connecticut has not layered additional technical mandates on top of HIPAA’s Security Rule; the state relies on the federal encryption, access-control, and audit-logging standards. Enforcement is shared between DPH, which can discipline providers who mishandle patient data, and the Attorney General’s Privacy and Data Security Section, which handles breaches of Connecticut residents’ personal health information.⁸

Retention rules track ordinary Connecticut medical records law. Providers must keep a patient’s records for at least seven years from the last date of treatment, and at least three years after the patient’s death.⁹ On request, records must be provided within 30 days. The maximum charge is 65 cents per page plus first-class postage where applicable, with no charge allowed when the records support a Social Security claim or appeal.¹⁰

Out-of-State Providers and Licensure Compacts

The default rule is unchanged: a provider treating a patient located in Connecticut needs a Connecticut license. What has changed is the number of compacts the state has joined, which give qualifying out-of-state professionals a pathway to practice here.

Interstate Medical Licensure Compact (IMLC). Connecticut is a participating member. Beginning March 15, 2026, DPH issues Letters of Qualification to eligible Connecticut-licensed physicians for expedited licensure in other IMLC states, and physicians from other IMLC states can do the same to practice in Connecticut.¹¹
Nurse Licensure Compact (NLC). Connecticut implemented the NLC on October 1, 2025. Nurses holding a multistate license from any NLC member state can practice in Connecticut without a separate state license.¹²
PSYPACT. Effective October 1, 2022, psychologists from other PSYPACT states can provide telepsychology to Connecticut patients.¹³
Counseling Compact. Adopted under Public Act 23-195, allowing licensed counselors from other member states to practice across state lines by telehealth or in person.¹⁴

One recent pathway has closed. Public Act 24-110 temporarily allowed out-of-state mental and behavioral health professionals to register with DPH and provide telehealth to Connecticut patients without full Connecticut licensure, but that authorization expired on June 30, 2025, and was not renewed.¹⁵ Out-of-state behavioral health providers not covered by PSYPACT or the Counseling Compact now need a Connecticut license to keep treating patients in the state.

Insurance Coverage and Parity

Health carriers must cover telehealth services to the same extent they cover the same service in person, and cannot reduce reimbursement to a provider simply because the service was delivered remotely.² This parity rule, originally temporary under PA 21-9, is now permanent. Utilization review is still allowed, but carriers must use the same clinical criteria and process they would apply to an in-person visit for the same service.

Medicaid coverage flows through HUSKY Health, administered by the Department of Social Services. Members can access medical and behavioral health services by video, and by audio-only telephone when the conditions above are met.¹⁶

No Facility Fees for Telehealth

Neither telehealth providers nor hospitals may charge facility fees for telehealth services. The ban applies to hospital-based telehealth whether the provider is on the hospital campus or working from another location. The rule is codified at Section 19a-906(h) and is meant to prevent facility charges being tacked onto the provider’s professional fee for a virtual visit.¹⁷

Enforcement and Complaints

DPH’s Practitioner Licensing and Investigations Section handles clinical complaints against telehealth providers. Disciplinary actions can include license suspension, revocation, or other sanctions, though DPH cannot award money to patients.³ DPH can also block an out-of-state mental or behavioral health provider from registering as a telehealth provider, or suspend and revoke an existing registration, for noncompliance with state requirements.¹⁸

The Connecticut Insurance Department enforces the coverage mandate. Carriers that wrongfully deny telehealth claims or impose discriminatory restrictions on reimbursement can face financial penalties, and patients who believe a claim was improperly denied can file a complaint with the department. Practicing telehealth in Connecticut without proper licensure or compact privileges can bring fines, discipline in the provider’s home state, and potential criminal liability.

1
Justia. Connecticut General Statutes 19a-906 – Telehealth Services
2
Connecticut General Assembly. An Act Concerning Telehealth – HB 6562 Bill Analysis
3
CT.gov. Reporting a Complaint
4
Connecticut General Assembly. Recent Changes to Connecticut’s Telehealth Laws
5
Connecticut General Assembly. An Act Concerning the Facilitation of Telehealth
6
Connecticut General Assembly. Telehealth and Prescribing Controlled Substances
7
Federal Register. Fourth Temporary Extension of COVID-19 Telemedicine Flexibilities for Prescription of Controlled Medications
8
CT.gov. The Privacy and Data Security Department
9
CT.gov. Public Health Code Medical Records Regulations
10
CT.gov. Access to Medical Records
11
CT.gov. Interstate Medical Licensure Compact
12
CT.gov. Convert CT License to Multistate License Compact
13
CT.gov. PSYPACT
14
CT.gov. Counseling Compact
15
Connecticut General Assembly. Public Act No. 24-110
16
CT.gov. Special Information and Resources for HUSKY Health Members About Coronavirus
17
Connecticut General Assembly. Facility Fee Limits
18
Connecticut General Assembly. Recent Changes to Connecticut’s Telehealth Law