New Bill Aims to Reduce the Financial Burden of a Telehealth Visit

A new bill before Congress aims to reduce the financial burden on patients by exempting telehealth services in certain high-deductible health plans.

The Telehealth Expansion Act of 2021 (S. 1704), introduced last week by Senators Steve Daines (R-MT) and Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), would permanently extend the telehealth safe harbor in HDHPs that had been included as a temporary provision of the CARES Act, thereby allowing first-dollar coverage for virtual care.

The bill – one of dozens now on Capitol Hill that address extending connected health coverage and access beyond the coronavirus pandemic – targets a very specific barrier, particularly in underserved populations. People are often reluctant to access healthcare for anything other than an emergency because of the challenges of paying for high deductibles. And with COVID-19 affecting everyone’s budget, those costs are even more daunting.

By eliminating the pressure of meeting a deductible, the bill would make it easier for patients to use telehealth for a wide variety of services, including rehab and therapy, behavioral health, health and wellness and chronic care management.

“The pandemic has taken a huge toll on our communities, including our children, and I want to improve access to quality health care for all Nevadans to help us recover,” Cortex Masto said in a press release. “This bipartisan legislation will make it easier for families with high deductible health plans to get telehealth appointments, including for mental and behavioral health care.”

The bill has the support of several organizations, including the American Telemedicine Association and the Alliance for Connected Care.

“As we emerge from the public health emergency, permanently extending the HDHP/HSA Telehealth Safe Harbor would allow fully half of American workers and families to continue accessing clinically appropriate telehealth and remote care services for a range of common conditions, without the burden of first meeting a deductible,” ATA CEO Ann Mond Johnson said in the press release.

“This bill would ensure a permanent extension of this provision and ensure beneficiaries continue to have ready access to telehealth services while remaining eligible to make and receive contributions to an HSA beyond the public health emergency,” added ACC Executive Director Krista Drobac.