Virtual doctor visits are getting more popular, but questions remain about who pays

Tucked into the federal budget law Congress passed in February was a provision that significantly expands the use of telemedicine — long a hyped health-care reform and now poised to go mainstream within five to 10 years.

“There’s much broader recognition of the benefits,” said Mei Wa Kwong, executive director of the Center for Connected Health Policy, a research group that promotes telemedicine in Sacramento. “The law is the latest to make telemedicine more accessible. But we still have a ways to go before most consumers are aware of the option.”