Legislation Aims to Support Telehealth Access in Rural Areas

Earlier this month, a group of six United States House representatives introduced the Protecting Rural Telehealth Access Act, which intends to maintain regional telehealth access and Medicare coverage flexibilities enacted during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The expansion of telehealth that took place during the COVID-19 pandemic helped boost access to care, including in rural areas.

Although many regulatory flexibilities that enabled access were intended to be temporary, a group of representatives has introduced the Protecting Rural Telehealth Access Act to sustain them.

"Since the pandemic, telehealth has significantly expanded health care access for rural communities across Kansas," said Congressman Jake LaTurner (R-KS) in a press release. "I am proud to help introduce the bipartisan Protecting Rural Telehealth Access Act to ensure folks across our state can continue receiving essential health care services without the burden of long-distance travel."

The Protecting Rural Telehealth Access Act aims to save time and money for rural patients by making permanent Medicare telehealth coverage temporarily enacted during the pandemic.

The Protecting Rural Telehealth Access Act would withdraw geographic restrictions on originating sites, give critical access hospitals (CAHs) the ability to bill directly for telehealth, allow rural health clinics (RHCs) and federally qualified health centers (FQHCs) to serve as distance sites for telehealth, and include audio-only telehealth in coverage for evaluation and management along with behavioral health.

LaTurner joined colleagues Chris Pappas (D-NH), Lisa McClain (R-MI), Marcus Molinaro (R-NY), Alex Mooney (R-WV), and Zach Nunn (R-IA) to introduce this legislation.

As the COVID-19 pandemic became less severe and vaccines and treatments became more widely available, various efforts to maintain telehealth access emerged.

In February, a group of six US House representatives announced details surrounding the Telehealth Benefit Expansion for Workers Act, which aims to provide American workers with access to employer-sponsored telehealth benefits.

Prior to this effort, President Biden had stated that the end date of the public health emergency (PHE) was May 11, 2023. The anticipation of this date provoked concern over telehealth access and regulatory flexibilities.

Intended to operate similarly to dental and vision benefits and remain separate from traditional health plans, the standalone employer-sponsored telehealth benefits would apply to all workers.

On the final day of the PHE on May 11, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) provided insight into the telehealth regulations that would and would not change from there on.

Congress extended certain flexibilities within the Medicare program through the end of 2024. This took place through the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023.

Contrarily, flexibilities related to HIPAA and behavioral healthcare are slated to revert to pre-pandemic regulations.

In 2020, the HHS Office for Civil Rights shared that it would not issue penalties to providers for HIPAA noncompliance. However, the OCR announced in April that the enforcement discretion would conclude on May 11. There would, however, be a transition period through August to ensure that telehealth services comply with HIPAA.