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Lawmakers Ask Congress to Create a Rural Telehealth Access Task Force
The Rural Telehealth Access Task Force Act, introduced last week in the House, would launch a federal study of how telehealth is being used - and what barriers it faces - in rural America.
Lawmakers are making another push to improve telehealth access in rural America.
US Reps. Greg Pence (R-IN) and Angie Craig (D-MN) have introduced the Rural Telehealth Access Task Force Act (HR 5506), which aims to create a federal task force to study how telehealth is used in rural parts of the country, what barriers it faces in adoption and expansion, and how federal programs to expand broadband connectivity are fostering telehealth growth.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has opened many Americans’ eyes to the benefits of widespread access to telehealth services. From routine procedures to annual check-ups and everything in between – Americans have shifted a huge portion of their medical services online over the past year,” Craig said in a press release. “However, especially in rural communities who face difficulties accessing affordable, reliable broadband internet, this transition has been slow and onerous.”
The bill pulls together several federal departments that have been instrumental in advancing connected health initiatives. The task force would include representatives from the Federal Communications Commission, which oversees, among other things, the COVID-19 Telehealth Program and Connected Care Pilot Program; the Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA); the Department of Veterans Affairs, which administers the largest telehealth program in the country; and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration.
This isn’t the first effort to develop a national rural telehealth policy. Last September, the FCC, HHS and Department of Agriculture signed a Memorandum of Understanding to launch an interagency Rural Telehealth Task Force to advance then-President Trump’s Executive Order on Improving Rural and Telehealth Access.
More than 15 percent of the country’s population live in rural areas, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and they face challenges to accessing care that run the gamut from hospital closures and provider shortages to geographical barriers. In addition, rural residents are more likely to die from chronic conditions that could be better managed if they had unfettered access to care.
While telehealth adoption blossomed during the coronavirus pandemic, thanks to emergency federal and state measures to boost coverage and access, a lot of that growth has subsided as healthcare organizations open their doors to in-person care again. Providers are left to develop a hybrid healthcare strategy that combines virtual care with in-person care while awaiting guidance at the state and federal levels on long-term telehealth policy.
