With over 200 stakeholders urging Congress to prioritize telehealth regulations, the call for action resonates across healthcare sectors. This collective plea underscores the urgency of extending pandemic-era waivers, crucial for implementing new policies before their December 2024 expiry. Stakeholders emphasize the indispensable role of telehealth in expanding healthcare access, particularly for underserved populations. The summary encapsulates the imperative for swift congressional intervention to ensure continuity of care, support healthcare workforce flexibility, and sustain investment in telehealth infrastructure.
The chorus of voices advocating for proactive telehealth policy echoes loudly across the healthcare landscape. With over 200 stakeholders, including healthcare providers, trade associations, and virtual care entities, joining forces, the call for Congress to prioritize telehealth regulations early in the year reverberates with urgency. At the heart of this unified plea lies the necessity to extend the pandemic-era waivers set to expire on December 31, 2024, granting essential breathing room for the implementation of new policies.
Convened by the Alliance for Connected Care, the collective letter dispatched to congressional leaders underscores the critical need for swift action. It argues that advancing telehealth flexibilities earlier in the year offers a safeguard against the risk of relegating this pivotal policy amidst the myriad of competing priorities that typically besiege year-end legislative sessions.
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Congress enacted a series of waivers aimed at bolstering access to healthcare in the face of in-person care constraints. These waivers, which included the removal of geographic limitations on originating sites for telehealth services and the continuation of telehealth provisions for federally qualified health centers and rural health centers, served as a lifeline for many. Additionally, the waivers facilitated mental healthcare access by waiving initial in-person care requirements and ensured coverage for audio-only telehealth services.
Even with the gradual easing of in-person care restrictions, telehealth remained indispensable in healthcare delivery. The letter highlights the pivotal role played by current telehealth flexibilities in providing access to essential healthcare services, particularly for individuals residing in rural and underserved areas, those with mobility challenges, and those hindered by transportation limitations.
The extension of these telehealth flexibilities until December 31, 2024, by Congress at the close of 2022 was a crucial step forward. However, stakeholders emphasize the importance of taking preemptive action well before the expiration date. Doing so not only offers reassurance to Medicare beneficiaries regarding the continuity of virtual healthcare services but also facilitates the creation of flexible virtual staffing models and supports ongoing investment in telehealth infrastructure.
Furthermore, early congressional intervention enables health plans and employers to design and implement telehealth benefits before enrollment periods, fostering a seamless transition towards integrated virtual care solutions. Failure to provide clear guidance on long-term telehealth flexibilities may impede healthcare delivery systems’ ability to allocate sufficient resources, thereby limiting patient access to vital services.
The signatories of the letter represent a diverse spectrum of stakeholders, including prominent trade associations such as the American Health Information Management Association and the American Nurses Association, leading healthcare providers like Trinity Health and Mass General Brigham, and innovative telehealth companies such as Amwell, Teladoc Health, and Omada Health.
Dubbed the “Super Bowl for telehealth policy,” 2024 holds immense significance in the evolution of virtual care. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has already taken strides towards solidifying certain pandemic-era flexibilities. Notably, a final rule published on February 2 establishes the permanence of a temporary provision allowing opioid treatment programs (OTPs) to initiate buprenorphine treatment via telehealth.
This rule further expands the purview of telehealth by permitting OTPs to utilize video-based platforms for methadone treatment under specified conditions. However, despite these advancements, numerous flexibilities remain uncertain. In late January, lawmakers issued a letter urging HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra to collaborate with Congress in preserving expanded telehealth access.
The letter emphasizes the importance of transparent communication regarding the authorities, appropriations, and resources necessary to sustain telehealth initiatives. It underscores the pivotal role of channels such as the President’s Fiscal Year 2025 Budget, the Calendar Year 2025 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule, and forthcoming testimonies before Congressional committees in articulating the requirements for continued telehealth support.
In a healthcare landscape increasingly reliant on telehealth solutions, the imperative for early congressional action cannot be overstated. The collective voice of over 200 stakeholders underscores the urgency of extending telehealth flexibilities to ensure uninterrupted access to essential healthcare services. As Congress contemplates the future of telehealth policy, it must prioritize the needs of vulnerable populations, support healthcare workforce adaptability, and foster continued investment in telehealth infrastructure. Through proactive measures, policymakers can empower healthcare providers, bolster patient outcomes, and pave the way for a more accessible and resilient healthcare system.
