US Senators Release Draft Telehealth Policies for Mental Healthcare

To maintain quality mental healthcare as the COVID-19 pandemic progresses, four US Senators have released a discussion draft of telehealth policies for mental healthcare initiatives that focus on increasing access and directing insurers to support virtual care.

Sens. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Ben Cardin (D-Md.), and John Thune (R-S.D.), who are part of the Senate Committee on Finance, released the draft.

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed healthcare, leading patients and providers to new care delivery methods like telehealth. Aiming to maintain and improve mental healthcare services through telehealth, the US Senators have discussed new policies that consider multiple factors.

The policies include removing the Medicare requirement for an initial in-person visit before telehealth and providing benefit transparency for Medicare beneficiaries so they are aware of how and when they can use telehealth for mental healthcare services.

Other policies include solidifying necessary access to audio-only mental healthcare coverage under Medicare, urging Medicare and Medicaid to support providers using telehealth, and encouraging states to use CHIP programs to improve in-person and virtual mental healthcare services in schools.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has taken a significant toll on the health and well-being [of] individuals and communities, exacerbating longstanding challenges with mental health and substance abuse,” said Cardin in the press release. “Telehealth, particularly for behavioral health services, has become an essential component of care, and I am pleased that we have this opportunity to improve access to telemental healthcare, particularly for underserved communities. 

The discussion draft relating to telehealth is the first one that the committee has worked on since launching its mental healthcare initiative. Earlier this year, the committee noted five key areas that require attention when improving mental healthcare. These include workforce, care integration, mental health parity, telehealth, and youth.

The growing implementation of telehealth throughout the COVID-19 pandemic has led lawmakers to introduce new policies and initiatives. 

In March, President Joe Biden shared his administration's plans to handle the mental healthcare epidemic, including increasing virtual options. The administration plans to take several steps such as helping providers add behavioral health services, expanding payment parity between physical and mental healthcare, increasing resources that assist in locating behavioral health services and enhancing access to telemental care.

A bipartisan bill introduced in April aims to make telehealth an excepted employee benefit. The bill would allow employers to offer standalone telehealth programs, like dental and vision plans, as a benefit separate from employees' medical health plans.