Coalition urges Senate to continue PHE telehealth waivers
Telehealth use has grown significantly since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, and a broad coalition of telehealth stakeholders wants the U.S. Senate to continue the policies enabling that growth.
In a September 13 letter to Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-NY) and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) the coalition urged the Senate to extend by two years the “flexibilities and waivers” that have enabled broader access to telehealth for Medicare beneficiaries under the COVID-induced public health emergency (PHE). Former president Donald Trump declared a PHE in March 2020. It has continued with 90-day extensions, with the current one due to expire October 15.
“This access has been transformational,” the letter states. “Patients now expect and often prefer telehealth as a key component of our health care system and providers have been able to reach many patients that previously had access barriers through virtual care.”
However, the short-term nature of the extensions means “providers must weigh the costs of investing in the technological and clinical infrastructure required to maintain telehealth programs…against the uncertainty of when these telehealth policies may end.”
The letter asks the senators to pass the Advancing Telehealth Beyond COVID-19 Act, (H.R. 4040) which would continue many of the Medicare telehealth flexibilities through 2024 while working on a permanent extension that would:
- Lift provider and patient location limitations on telehealth visits
- Ensure continued access to clinically appropriate controlled substances without in-person visit requirements, and
- Increase access to telehealth services in the commercial market