But the bill only passed the Senate after hours of fierce debate over an abortion-related provision, and the governor plans to veto it.
The bill establishes guidelines for providing telehealth services and insurance coverage for it.
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Senate Democrats, while acknowledging the usefulness of telemedicine in the current pandemic, nonetheless argued against the bill. If passed, they say the bill would not allow doctors to prescribe an abortion drug via telemedicine.
“Inclusion of this language in this bill is, in effect, a poison pill,” said state Sen. Sharif Street, a Philadelphia Democrat.
Republican Jake Corman, the state Senate majority leader, claims the abortion drug, mifepristone, is included in FDA guidelines, which say certain drugs should only be prescribed after an in-person visit with a physician.
“Nothing in this bill, as amended by the House of Representatives, changes that,” he said.
But Tuesday evening, Wolf’s spokesperson said he plans to veto the bill.