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Congress to Get Another Shot at Telehealth Coverage for Specialists
Lawmakers have resubmitted the Expanded Telehealth Access Act, which would permanently extend Medicare coverage to telehealth services provided by physical and occupational therapists, audiologists and speech and language pathologists.
A group of lawmakers has resubmitted a bill seeking to permanently expand Medicare coverage to telehealth services provided by physical and occupational therapists, audiologists and speech and language pathologists.
The Expanded Telehealth Access Act (HR 2168), which was first introduced in 2020, would extend a freedom that has been granted by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services during the coronavirus pandemic, but which will expire with the public health emergency. Specifically, it would give the Health and Human Services Secretary the authority to expand the list of healthcare providers who would be able to use connected health platforms.
“The use of telehealth services during this crisis has demonstrated the critical role technology can play in improving health equity,” US Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ), a co-sponsor of last year’s bill as well as this year’s bill, said in a press release this week. “Even now, as vaccinations are being distributed and the country begins to hope for a post-pandemic future, the value of telehealth networks has never been clearer. No one should have to go without care when a video or phone conversation with a health care provider could mean quicker, safer medical attention. I’m so proud to be reintroducing this crucial legislation that will help modernize our health care system and ensure quality care is more accessible to more people."
The bill joins a slew of others on Capitol Hill that first surfaced last year, as the COVID-19 crisis was in full bloom, but failed to make it through Congress. Many are being resubmitted in hopes that this year’s Congress will be more receptive to telehealth.
The continuation of telehealth coverage for specialists and other care providers has been included in policy recommendations from the American Telemedicine Association, the Alliance for Connected Care and other groups pressing the federal government to develop a long-term, post-COVID-19 telehealth strategy.
“This legislation is urgently needed in order to appropriately and effectively ensure access to quality care for all individuals and empowers healthcare practitioners to best care for their patients,” ATA CEO Ann Mond Johnson said in this week’s press release. “The ATA remains in lock-step with these bipartisan legislators in their efforts to make sure our healthcare system can deliver safe, effective and convenient care to patients wherever and whenever needed.”
“The use of telehealth during the pandemic has helped ensure patient access to physical therapist services, minimize potential exposure to the virus, and provided an option for therapy clinics and their patients during quarantine restrictions,” added Sharon Dunn, PT, PhD, president of the American Physical Therapy Association. “And it’s made it all the more clear just how valuable telehealth is to patients who may need alternative access to therapy. It is critical that Congress make this option for therapy services permanent for Medicare patients, beyond the public health emergency.”
Along with Sherrill, co-sponsors for the bill are US Reps. David McKinley (R-WV), Joseph Morelle (D-NY), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), Albio Sires (D-NJ), Claudia Tenney (R-NY), Joyce Beatty (D-OH), Rodney Davis (R-IL), Bobby Rush (D-IL), Don Young (R-AK), Nanette Diaz Barragan (D-CA), Paul Tonko (D-NY), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE), Sanford Bishop Jr. (D-GA), Tom O’Halleran (D-AZ) and Andre Carson (D-IN).
