Congress unveils bipartisan bill that would extend telehealth flexibilities for 2 years
Congress has revealed a bipartisan omnibus appropriations bill that would extend Medicare telehealth provisions implemented during the COVID-19 public health emergency until Dec. 31, 2024, according to the American Telemedicine Association.
Congress will likely vote on the omnibus bill and send it to President Joe Biden to sign within the next week, the American Telemedicine Association (ATA) noted in a press release.
Kyle Zebley, senior vice president of public policy for the ATA and executive director of ATA Action, said that the ATA “never wavered from our appeal to Congress, to provide stability around the lifesaving telehealth flexibilities that have become a relied upon and valued option for health care providers and patients.”
“Today, our congressional telehealth champions on both sides of the aisle came through for the American people and for ATA and ATA Action members, by meeting our plea for more certainty around telehealth access for the next 2 years, while we continue to work with policymakers to make telehealth access a permanent part of our health care delivery for the future,” he said in the release. “We asked Congress and they listened. We are truly grateful for their staunch support of telehealth. It’s now time to swiftly bring this bill to the president, for passage into law before year-end.”
The bill also includes 2-year extensions for the Acute Hospital Care at Home Program and offering telehealth in High Deductible Health Plans with Health Savings Accounts, and a 2-year delay in implementing the Medicare tele-mental health in-person requirement.
“The extension to the Acute Hospital Care at Home Program ensures continued access to this patient-centered care delivery model that is proving to effectively lower cost of care while improving patient health outcomes and satisfaction,” Zebley said.
While the telehealth flexibility extensions are a win for the ATA, Zebley said in the release that their work is not over.
“The ATA and ATA Action are delivering on our promise to advocate for permanent access for telehealth services and today marks a significant milestone towards that goal,” he said. “But the hard work continues as we persist in pressing telehealth permanency and creating a lasting roadblock to the ‘telehealth cliff.’”
Reference:
- H.R. 2617 SEC. 4113. Advancing Telehealth Beyond COVID-19. https://www.appropriations.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/JRQ121922.PDF. Accessed Dec. 20, 2022.