American Telemedicine Association Launches New Advocacy Group

As policymakers consider the numerous telehealth bills placed before them, a new advocacy organization has entered the scene: ATA Action.

Launched by the American Telemedicine Association, the new trade organization will focus on ensuring individuals have permanent access to telehealth. ATA Action will advocate for permanent state and federal telehealth coverage as well as the necessary reimbursement policies.

The new group includes a slew of prominent organizations that have come on board as members of its Founding Advocacy Council. These include HCA Healthcare, LifePoint Health, Philips, Best Buy Health, Intermountain Healthcare, Walmart, and Teladoc Health.

The organization plans to add members in the coming year, according to Kyle Zebley, vice president of public policy at the American Telemedicine Association, who will also serve as the executive director of ATA Action.

"Over the past two-plus years, telehealth has proven to be a lifeline to patients with limited or no access to necessary care," said Zebley in the news release. We will continue to work closely with our members, telehealth policy champions and other stakeholders to wage an even stronger campaign to avoid the looming 'telehealth cliff.'"

ATA Action will follow the American Telemedicine Association's policy principles, which include extending reimbursement to incentivize virtual care and expanding access for underserved and at-risk populations.

Initially, ATA Action will focus on ensuring that the temporary flexibilities enacted during the COVID-19 pandemic extend through 2023 at least, while also working to make these policies permanent.

Specifically, at the federal level, the organization plans to advocate for permanently repealing Medicare's in-person requirement for telemental health services, allowing providers to continue to prescribe controlled substances via telemedicine, and ensuring that telehealth is covered through federal programs, including federally qualified health centers, rural health clinics, the Indian Health Service, and the Veterans Health Administration.

At the state level, ATA Action will support modality-neutral telehealth legislation, identify states that have legislative or regulatory barriers to virtual care and work to remove them, and continue data collection efforts on the value of telehealth.

"Now is the time for policymakers to act on telehealth," said Ann Mond Johnson, CEO of the American Telemedicine Association, in the news release. "The ATA is pulling out all the stops to ensure that the policy gains we've made over the past two years do not go away, reverting us back to an out-of-date care delivery system that leaves millions of vulnerable patients out in the cold."

The pressure to protect telehealth access after the public health emergency has ended is growing.

In December, the American Hospital Association and 15 other healthcare organizations, including the American Telemedicine Association, launched a campaign to preserve telehealth access.

Advocacy efforts began have been ongoing amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Back in June 2020, about 24 telehealth advocacy organizations, providers, and vendors spearheaded a task force to lobby Congress for long-term telehealth access and coverage.

Reports on telehealth indicate continued use, despite recent dips. National telehealth use declined in October 2021, but it still accounted for 4.1 percent of all medical claim lines, according to data from FAIR Health.

Telehealth's popularity is also backed by research indicating that virtual care is as safe and effective as in-person care.