Telehealth Advocates Try to Bring Congress' Attention Back to Long-Term Policy

Support is growing for a bill before both chambers of Congress that would make permanent some very specific emergency measures that were designed to boost telehealth access and coverage in rural areas during the pandemic.

US Reps. Tom O’Halleran (D-AZ), David B. McKinley (R-WV), Adrian Smith (R-NE) and Ron Kind (D-WI) last week introduced the Protecting Telehealth Access Act, companion legislation to the Protecting Rural Telehealth Access Act that was introduced in the Senate this past June by Senators Joe Manchin (D-WV), Joni Ernst (R-IA), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Terry Moran (R-KS).

Both bills focus on specific changes to telehealth access and coverage that have proven successful during the COVID-19 crisis, and which telehealth advocates and other stakeholders have lobbied to make permanent. Both call on Congress to:

• Allow payment parity for audio-only telehealth services for qualifying appointments;
• Permanently waive geographic restrictions imposed by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, allowing patients to be treated in their homes;
• Permanently allow rural health clinics (RHCs) and Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) to serve as distant sites for providing telehealth services; and
• Allow Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) to directly bill for telehealth services.

“The pandemic has proven the value of telehealth,” McKinley said in a recent press release. “Particularly in rural areas, where access to care is a challenge, telehealth has provided a much-needed lifeline and improved care for millions of Americans. We need to take the lessons learned over the past year and a half and ensure we provide flexibility to meet the needs of patients and health care providers.”

The introduction of a House bill points to the maneuvering needed to push long-term telehealth policy to the forefront during a very hectic year, especially with so many different bills now before Congress that basically ask for variations of the same thing.

Supporters hope this bill will gain some momentum from being introduced in both the House and Senate, so that it can stand alone as a viable piece of legislation or be tacked onto another bill or group of bills headed to a vote.

They’re also highlighting the backing this bill has received from several organizations, including the American Telemedicine Association, Alliance for Connected Care, American Academy of Family Physicians, eHealth Initiative, Medical Group Management Association and National Rural Health Association.