Over 230 Organizations Urge CMS to Protect Remote Monitoring
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 24, 2026 (Updated September 11, 2026)
Coalition of More Than 230 Health Care Organizations Urges CMS Not to Finalize Proposed Remote Monitoring Restrictions
Letter warns proposed changes to remote monitoring would disrupt care for Medicare beneficiaries
More than 230 health care organizations, including national patient advocacy groups, hospitals and health systems, and professional provider societies, today sent a letter to CMS Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz urging the agency not to finalize its proposed policies for remote physiologic monitoring (RPM) and remote therapeutic monitoring (RTM) in the Calendar Year (CY) 2027 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule Proposed Rule.
The coalition, which includes over 30 major health systems and 50 national patient/provider organizations, warns that the proposed rule would cause immediate and significant disruption for over 1 million Medicare beneficiaries who rely on remote monitoring to manage chronic conditions, avoid preventable complications, and stay connected to their care teams.
“A policy intended to strengthen oversight should not increase costs to taxpayers,” the letter states, cautioning that restricting access to these services would move Medicare away from effective prevention and early intervention and back toward more expensive emergency department visits, hospitalizations, and institutional care.
The signers note that if finalized, the proposal would force providers to reduce enrollment, terminate programs, or stop offering remote monitoring altogether. Signers emphasize that CMS’s proposed changes will hit small practices, rural providers, and safety-net organizations. These are often the same communities facing long travel distances, clinician shortages, hospital closures, and limited access to specialists.
The letter points to the Administration’s own calls for greater use of technology to improve chronic disease management, especially in the Rural Health Transformation Program, arguing that remote monitoring advances both goals and that CMS should expand access to proven technology-enabled care rather than dismantle the models that make it possible.
Rather than broad restrictions on beneficiary access, the coalition urges CMS to delay the proposed remote monitoring policies and work with stakeholders on a balanced approach that protects patients, preserves clinically integrated care, and addresses program integrity concerns through proportionate, evidence-based guardrails.
A full list of the 230 national associations, health systems, and patient and provider groups is available in the letter and continues to grow. Interested stakeholders may add their organization’s name before the letter is submitted through the formal rulemaking process on September 14. Sign on here.
Read the full letter here as of September 10.
Find more information here: Background One Pager, Topline Messaging, Detailed Talking Points.
Alliance Advocacy Center: connectwithcare.org/rpm
Media Contact: Katie Vinson
kvinson@connectwithcare.org
Press Release: Alliance Publishes New Analysis of State Investments in Remote Monitoring Through RHTP
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 2, 2026
Alliance for Connected Care Publishes New Analysis of State Investments in Remote Monitoring Through Rural Health Transformation Program
Report finds states are dedicating billions for remote monitoring-enabled virtual care to close rural care gaps – even as a pending Medicare payment proposal threatens to undercut that investment
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Alliance for Connected Care released an analysis, State RHTP Investments in Remote Monitoring, examining how states are investing Rural Health Transformation Program (RHTP) dollars toward remote monitoring to expand access to chronic care and non-chronic management in rural communities nationwide.
RHTP, codified in statute through H.R. 1 on July 4, 2025, established a $50 billion funding opportunity over five years, with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) awarding funding to all 50 states. The program is organized around five strategic goals: making rural America healthy again, sustainable access, workforce development, innovative care, and tech innovation, including remote monitoring.
The Alliance’s analysis of Year 1 program narratives and procurement activity found that nearly all 50 states have incorporated remote monitoring into their RHTP plans, with many states specifically seeking vendor partnerships to build scalable, efficient remote monitoring programs for rural patients managing their health conditions.
Key findings include:
- 22 states have announced or awarded approximately $240 million in funding opportunities specifically dedicated to RPM infrastructure.
- 35 states have announced funding opportunities totaling more than $2.4 billion that identify RPM as an allowable use of funds alongside other technology and care investments.
- States are turning to remote monitoring to improve clinician efficiency, address rural workforce shortages, support the transition to value-based care, and sustain program impact beyond RHTP’s five-year window.
“States have made clear that remote monitoring is central to how they intend to deliver sustainable, high-quality chronic care in rural communities,” the report notes. “Most rural providers do not have the capacity or resources to build these programs on their own — they are counting on vendor partnerships to make RPM work at scale.”
The report also highlights a significant concern for the durability of these investments. The proposed CY2027 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (PFS), if finalized as written, would dramatically reduce coverage for Medicare RPM services. Because many rural providers depend on outside vendors to deploy and sustain monitoring programs, the Alliance warns that a reimbursement and/or operational shortfall could make states’ RPM investments unsustainable, potentially preventing states from meeting the outcome goals tied to their RHTP funding and exposing them to clawbacks and reduced funding in future years.
The full report includes a state-by-state breakdown of RPM-related funding initiatives, program goals, and dollar amounts drawn from publicly available program and budget narratives and procurement documents.
The complete analysis is available at https://connectwithcare.org/rhtp-investments-in-remote-patient-monitoring/.
The Alliance previously published a letter, signed by over 200 organizations (including over 30 hospitals and health systems, and over 50 patient and provider groups), to CMS urging the agency to delay and/or not finalize the proposed changes. Additional organizations continue to join this open letter.
About the Alliance for Connected Care
The Alliance is dedicated to improving access to care through the reduction of policy, legal, and regulatory barriers to the adoption of connected care capabilities, including telemedicine, remote monitoring, and AI-enabled care. Our members are leading healthcare and technology organizations from across the spectrum, representing health systems, health payers, technology innovators, and patient and provider groups, including clinician specialty and patient advocacy groups who wish to better utilize opportunities enabled by virtual care.
See below for a chart outlining RHTP investments in RPM or click here for a downloadable PDF.
Contact: Katie Vinson
kvinson@connectwithcare.org
Report: States Are Investing Billions in Remote Monitoring Through RHTP
The Rural Health Transformation Program (RHTP), codified in statute by H.R. 1 on July 4, 2025, is a $50 billion rural health funding opportunity over five years. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) awarded all 50 states funding through RHTP to advance five strategic goals:
- Make Rural America Healthy Again
- Sustainable Access
- Workforce Development
- Innovative Care
- Tech Innovation (including remote care, specifically)
As Year 1 draws to a close, states are still advancing RHTP and state policy action, releasing procurement opportunities, and announcing funding decisions. Based on program narratives and procurement, nearly all 50 states included remote monitoring in RHTP and many indicated a desire to fund provider contracts with a vendor to set up scalable, efficient, sustainable remote monitoring programs for rural patients who need chronic care treatment and management most. States are using remote monitoring to improve clinician efficiency, address workforce shortages, transition to value-based models of care, and sustain the impact of this transformational funding opportunity past the five-year program period.
Many (if not most) of these rural providers will not have the capacity or funding to stand up in-house remote monitoring programs. If the CY2027 Physician Fee Schedule (PFS) is finalized as proposed this year, the investments in remote monitoring infrastructure would be unsustainable, given a lack of Medicare reimbursement for the services and outcomes the funding is designed to enable. If rural hospitals cannot use vendors to deploy the remote monitoring that patients need, the state may not be able to meet its RHTP goals, leading to CMS clawbacks and a decrease in funding to the state in future years. CMS is potentially jeopardizing the state’s RHTP dollars with this proposal.
Below is a chart of each state’s remote monitoring investments based on program and budget narratives and procurement activities. There are two main columns:
- Remote Monitoring Funding Amount: Specific funding opportunities for remote monitoring infrastructure exclusively (or nearly exclusively, if the procurement includes other remote care supports)
- Technology/Relevant Funding Amount: More general funding opportunities that define remote monitoring as an allowable use of funds
Based on our analysis of first year funding, 22 states have announced or awarded about $240 million in remote monitoring-specific funding. Similarly, 35 states have announced specific dollar figures for opportunities that may fund remote monitoring, totaling over $2.4 billion.
See below for a chart outlining RHTP investments in RPM or click here for a downloadable PDF.
Contact: Katie Vinson
kvinson@connectwithcare.org
Alliance Submits Comments on CY 2027 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule
The Alliance for Connected Care was pleased to provide feedback on proposed CY2027 polices under the Physician Fee Schedule. The Alliance continues to applaud the Administration’s focus on advancing technology-enabled models of care that support better health outcomes. We share the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services goal of strengthening oversight of technology-enabled care, including remote monitoring. However, we are deeply concerned that the effect of the proposed remote monitoring policies would be the loss of access to care for millions of Medicare beneficiaries, with particularly severe consequences for rural communities and patients served by small and independent practices.
The Alliance’s top recommendations include:
- The Alliance urges CMS to not finalize its proposed remote monitoring policies as written. At minimum, CMS should delay implementation and work with stakeholders to develop a more balanced approach that preserves beneficiary access while establishing targeted, evidence-based safeguards against fraud, waste, and abuse.
- The Alliance recommends that CMS reconsider its proposed practice expense methodology for care management services. We are concerned that these changes do not account for real costs and could set an alarming precedent for other virtual care services with practice expense costs.
- The Alliance requests that CMS ensure the telehealth modifiers being implemented through sub-regulatory guidance are meaningful and nuanced in capturing the data which could have long-term implications for telehealth policymaking.
- The Alliance encourages CMS not to adopt proposed changes to telehealth critical care consultations and maintain alignment between telehealth and in-person care.
- Recognizing the inherent link between accelerating technology-enabled care on the path to outcome aligned payment – we call on CMS to create additional provider-accessible, technology-enabled, outcome-based care management pathway.
- The Alliance welcomes CMS’s Make America Healthy Again RFI and looks forward to advancing AI-enabled care delivery through concrete payment pathways. Specifically, the Alliance urges CMS to consider broader modernizations to communications-based technology services to better facilitate their use – making these services easier to provide and allowing for AI-enabled care, while ensuring these changes do not lead to overutilization.
Read the letter here or below:
Alliance Joins Interstate Healthcare Collaborative Letter on SHARE Act
The Alliance for Connected Care joined the Interstate Healthcare Collaborative and more than twenty healthcare organizations, health systems, and licensing bodies in sending a letter to House Speaker Mike Johnson, Majority Leader Steve Scalise, and Majority Whip Tom Emmer, urging them to bring the States Handling Access to Reciprocity for Employment (SHARE) Act (H.R. 2332) to the House floor under the suspension calendar when Congress reconvenes in late August.
Read the full statement here or below:
Alliance Urges Healthcare Advisory Committee to Prioritize Virtual Care and Remote Monitoring
The Alliance for Connected Care submitted virtual care recommendations to the Healthcare Advisory Committee for consideration during it August 31, 2026 meeting.
Virtual care tools, such as telehealth, remote monitoring, and AI-enabled tools, closely align with the Administration’s goal to empower patients to take their health back into their hands through technology-enabled tools. Telehealth and remote monitoring, two examples that expanded under the first Trump Administration, have reduced barriers to care by connecting patients, particularly rural Americans, to health care services and specialists. The Alliance urged the Committee to build on this progress by protecting access to the full spectrum of connected care capabilities and ensuring that federal policy supports, rather than limits, technology-enabled care.
Remote monitoring is an increasingly important part of this infrastructure. It allows clinicians to monitor patients between traditional encounters, identify changes in vital signs or disease progression earlier, reinforce medication and lifestyle goals, and intervene before a condition results in an avoidable emergency department visit or hospitalization. For patients with chronic conditions and those who face geographic or workforce barriers to care, remote monitoring can help extend the reach of the clinical care team beyond the walls of a traditional medical setting.
The Alliance also raised concerns about CMS’s proposed 2027 remote monitoring policies, which would significantly reduce access to care for millions of Medicare beneficiaries, with particularly severe consequences for rural communities and patients served by small and independent practices. The proposed changes could have particularly serious consequences for rural communities and patients served by small and independent practices that may rely on specialized partners to make remote monitoring programs operational and sustainable.
Read the letter here or below:
Call to Action – Protect Medicare Remote Monitoring
CMS’s proposed remote monitoring policies could dismantle established RPM and RTM programs and disrupt care for approximately one million Medicare beneficiaries. Below is an updated list of advocacy pathways for general engagement on the Medicare payment rule.
Find more information here: Background One Pager, Topline Messaging, Detailed Talking Points.
Alliance Advocacy Center: connectwithcare.org/rpm
Call to Action:
Organizational Opportunities
- Encourage all patient and provider organizations to join this stakeholder letter. Add your organization’s name to the letter urging CMS not to finalize the proposed policies as written. (Vendors are encouraged to share with their partners.)
- Contact CMS Directly
- Submit comments directly to CMS in August (sooner is better). Explain how the proposals would affect your patients, clinicians, operations, staffing model, costs, and ability to continue offering RPM or RTM. The consensus position is that CMS should not finalize these policies as proposed – At minimum, CMS should delay implementation of both staffing and payment changes and work with stakeholders on targeted program-integrity guardrails.
- Direct outreach through those organizational leaders and partners who have existing policymaker relationships. While we should not inundate policymakers with cold requests, you should ask influential partners, clinical leaders, or funders who are capable of making direct high-level outreach to Dr. Oz or other HHS leaders to do so.
- Small providers should write the Small Business Administration’s Office of Advocacy at redtape@sba.gov. In your comment you should describe the economic impact of the proposed rules on small practices. Specifically – costs that would be incurred if you were unable to partner with a vendor are useful here. We are also working to set up an opportunity for additional direct input to the agency.
- Identify spokespeople. It is very problematic that there have been very few patient voices or small providers represented in the advocacy/media coverage of this issue. Please identify individuals whose voices you can support. We are also capturing a list of patients, provider, health system leader, or organizational representatives available to speak with policymakers or the press.
Individual Opportunities (please share with your networks)
- Mobilize patients and providers. Ask patients, caregivers, clinicians, and program leaders to share their experiences with CMS and members of Congress through grassroots tool. This tool has canned language that can be sent but it’s more effective if it’s personalized. For example, specific stories about prevented hospitalizations, improved outcomes, and barriers to care are especially important.
- Contact CMS (an easy way for individuals to submit official comments)
- Contact Congress (automatically routes to your local representatives).
- Share patient and provider stories with us. We are collecting real-world examples to support advocacy with CMS, Congress, and the media.
Alliance Leads More Than 200 Health Care Organizations Delivers Telehealth Voters Pledge to Congress
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 23, 2026
Coalition of More Than 200 Health Care Organizations Delivers Telehealth Voters Pledge to Congress
Patients, clinicians, and health system leaders join Members of Congress on Capitol Hill to call for permanent Medicare telehealth access
Patients, clinicians, and healthcare leaders today delivered the Telehealth Voters Pledge to Members of Congress at a Capitol Hill event hosted by the Alliance for Connected Care. The pledge, signed by more than 200 health care organizations, clinicians, and patient advocacy groups, calls on Congress to end the cycle of short-term extensions and enact permanent Medicare telehealth coverage.
Current telehealth flexibilities are set to expire December 31, 2027. A previous lapse in coverage in 2025 disrupted care for patients across the country, causing a gap organizers say Congress cannot afford to repeat. Today’s event, sponsored by Reps. Doris Matsui (D-CA) and Mike Thompson (D-CA), brought together congressional and healthcare leaders to speak to the urgent need for permanent access and to outline new commitments to build momentum ahead of a fall legislative push. Rep. Carol Miller (R-WV) joined as a featured speaker, underscoring the bipartisan support behind the pledge.
“We saw what happens when Medicare telehealth coverage lapses; real patients lost real access in 2025. Congress has the evidence, the coalition, and the runway to fix this before it happens again. There’s no excuse to wait until this care is about to expire again to act,” said Chris Adamec, Executive Director of the Alliance for Connected Care. “We’ve patched Medicare telehealth access together with short-term extensions for too long. Today, more than 200 organizations are telling Congress to stop kicking the can down the road, and make this permanent.”
Other speakers at today’s event included:
- Chris Adamec, MPA — Executive Director, Alliance for Connected Care
- Chidinma Chima-Melton, MD, MBA, FCCP, ATSF —Ambulatory Medical Director of Virtual Care, Ascension
- Valerie Fuller, PhD, DNP — President, American Association of Nurse Practitioners
- Barry Arbuckle, PhD — Executive Chairman, MemorialCare
- Nathan Baugh — Executive Director, National Association of Rural Health Clinics
- Heidi McIntosh, MSW — Chief Operating Officer, National Association of Social Workers
- Clara Keane — Senior Policy Director, Healthcare Leadership Council
Coalition leaders and pledge signatories are committing to:
- Raise the urgency of permanent telehealth policy in town halls, debates, and public and private forums through the fall
- Educate members, patients, and constituencies about the risks and challenges created by the current cycle of short-term Medicare telehealth extensions
- Share patient stories, clinical data, and economic evidence that make the case for permanent coverage
- Collaborate across the coalition on shared resources, talking points, and advocacy strategy heading into a fall legislative push
These activities are strictly nonpartisan and focused solely on the policy merits of permanent Medicare telehealth coverage. The coalition includes patient advocacy organizations, clinician associations, hospitals and health systems, and technology companies spanning the health care spectrum.
“Nearly one in every four Americans, approximately 60 million people, experience a mental illness annually, and right now, there is only one mental health provider for every 340 people in the U.S.,” said Association for Behavioral Health and Wellness (ABHW) President and CEO Debbie Witchey. “Allowing permanent Medicare telehealth services and repealing the mental health services in-person requirement will protect access to care and ensure individuals start or continue their care without disruption.”
“Compassion & Choices is committed to advocating for making Medicare telehealth coverage permanent,” said Bernadette Nunley, Chief Legal Advocacy Officer. “This access is important for ensuring that our constituencies are able to routinely check in with their clinicians without the burden of leaving home. Telehealth has been shown to expand access to palliative care specialists, hospice consultations, and symptom management, which is especially important for folks at end-of-life. Telehealth also makes the completion and periodic updating of advance care plans easier and therefore more likely.”
“It is time for permanent Medicare telehealth policy that protects access for older adults across the U.S. and reduces uncertainty for patients and providers alike. I’m proud that CVS Health has supported these flexibilities since the pandemic – we see every day how virtual care can remove barriers to getting help. Our MinuteClinic virtual care services, including mental health support, make it easier for all patients to get the care they need in ways that fit their lives,” said Jon Thiboutot, President of Retail Health at CVS Health.
“Telehealth isn’t a convenience, it’s infrastructure. In skilled nursing and long-term care, virtual clinical access is often the difference between a resident being stabilized in their bed at 2 a.m. or being shipped to an ED for a condition that could have been managed on-site. Permanent telehealth access isn’t a partisan issue. It’s a basic question of whether we believe frail elders and rural Americans deserve the same standard of care as everyone else” said Mordy Eisenberg, Co-Founder of Tapestry Health. “We are proud to stand with the Alliance for Connected Care in urging every candidate in 2026 to commit to making these protections permanent.”
“Permanent Medicare telehealth policy is essential to protecting access to timely, high-quality care for America’s seniors, and we are committed to educating voters and policymakers about the need to move beyond temporary extensions and create lasting statutory authority for telehealth in 2026” said Chad Ellimoottil, MD, MS, Medical Director of Virtual Care at University of Michigan Health.
“Telehealth has become an essential lifeline for Americans to access care, particularly those in rural and underserved communities where getting to or even booking in-person visits can be difficult. We are committed to working with policymakers to move beyond temporary extensions and establish permanent Medicare telehealth policies that provide certainty for patients and providers to strengthen care delivery nationwide,” said the Healthcare Leadership Council.
“The National Association of Social Workers (NASW) hears from social workers across the country about the importance and efficacy of telemental health. Social workers and their clients should not have to face recurring lapses in care while telehealth is not permanently extended. NASW is committed to making permanent telehealth a reality,” says NASW Chief Operating Officer, Heidi McIntosh, MSW.
Learn more about the Telehealth Voters Pledge and the growing coalition working to make permanent Medicare telehealth a national priority at connectwithcare.org/pledge.
Addendum: Additional Quotes from Select Signers
Anchored Life Services, LLC
“At Anchored Life Services, we empower individuals to build healthier, more intentional lives through assessments, education, counseling, and coaching. Our approach recognizes the connection among mental health, lifestyle, biology, and environment to support long-term growth and well-being. We specialize in helping individuals increase insight, strengthen resilience, and create sustainable change through practical, evidence-informed care.”
Aviary Health
“Aviary Health supports telehealth wholeheartedly as a modality to provide much-needed care across the country for those who wouldn’t otherwise be able to access care. This includes virtual cardiopulmonary care and other chronic care programs.”
Center to Advance Palliative Care
“Palliative care improves quality of life and reduces unnecessary utilization, but in-person visits are often a barrier for people living with serious illness. Telehealth palliative care has been proven equally effective, but with much greater access.”
Connected Home Living
“Connected Home Living (CHL) proudly endorses the National Telehealth Voters Pledge led by the Alliance for Connected Care. Through our extensive partnerships with medical groups, hospitals, home health agencies, home care providers, and community-based organizations, we have witnessed firsthand how telehealth and remote caregiving solutions improve access, safety, outcomes, and quality of life — particularly for older adults, individuals with disabilities, and underserved populations in rural and remote communities.
“CHL strongly believes that connected care is no longer optional, but an essential component of the future healthcare ecosystem. Our success delivering hybrid care and remote support services continues to demonstrate that technology-enabled care can reduce unnecessary hospitalizations, improve care coordination, extend caregiver capacity, and help vulnerable individuals remain safely and independently in their homes. We support policies that protect and expand access to telehealth services nationwide so more families can benefit from equitable, affordable, and connected care solutions.”
Continuum Therapy Partners
“Continuum Therapy Partners believes telehealth has become an essential component of modern long-term care delivery. Permanent access to telehealth services supports improving resident access to timely clinical care, enhances interdisciplinary collaboration, and helps providers address ongoing workforce and healthcare access challenges. Continuum remains committed to leveraging technology-driven solutions that improve outcomes, support compliance, and ensure residents in long-term care receive high-quality patient-centered care.”
Cyclic Vomiting Syndrome Association
“Access to telehealth expands access to care by removing barriers, making it easier for patients and families to connect with providers and specialists. This improved access supports more timely, consistent care, ultimately enhancing quality of care and overall quality of life.”
Digital Medicine Society (DiMe)
“At the Digital Medicine Society (DiMe), we believe Medicare beneficiaries deserve as many safe, effective, and accessible pathways to care as possible, including high-quality telehealth services,” said Jennifer Goldsack, CEO, Digital Medicine Society (DiMe).
Dysautonomia International
“There are so few dysautonomia specialists in the US that more than half of our patients are forced to travel over 100 miles from home to access dysautonomia care. Telehealth makes care more accessible for patients living in rural areas or cities that don’t have a dysautonomia specialist, and helps dysautonomia patients who are so ill they are unable to travel.”
Encounter Telehealth, Inc
“Encounter Telehealth provides behavioral healthcare to rural senior living communities. Encounter practitioners are often the first behavioral healthcare specialist our patients see. Without telehealth, our patients would go with out much needed and deserved care.”
Gilda’s Club South Florida
“Pass Medicare telehealth permanently!”
HealthTap
“It is unconscionable that in 2026, access to a primary care physician still depends on geography, mobility, or the renewal date of a temporary policy extension. Telehealth is not an experiment — it is proven infrastructure, backed by years of clinical evidence and embraced by tens of millions of Americans who now depend on it for their care. HealthTap is proud to join this coalition because permanent Medicare telehealth authority is not a partisan issue — it is a patient safety issue. Every month we operate under temporary extensions, we introduce uncertainty into the lives of our most vulnerable populations: seniors in rural communities, patients managing chronic conditions, and the millions of Americans who simply cannot get an appointment with a primary care physician within a reasonable timeframe. Washington has the data. Clinicians have the tools. Patients have made their preference clear. What’s missing is the political will to make permanence the default rather than the exception. We’re signing this pledge because the primary care crisis in America will not be solved by the private sector alone, and it will not be solved by policy alone — it will be solved when both work together with the urgency this moment demands.”
MedWand Solutions, Inc.
“We believe maintaining access to telehealth services is critical to ensure the healthcare community is efficiently leveraging the limited resources available.”
National Alliance for Care at Home
“As the unified voice of providers caring for Americans in the home, the National Alliance for Care at Home (the Alliance) recognizes that telehealth flexibilities are critical for ensuring high-quality care for all who need it. Following difficult coverage gaps in 2025 that further exacerbated a growing access to care crisis, it is time for providers and the patients they serve to have stable access to telehealth.
“Individuals relying on care in the home shouldn’t face uncertainty about whether Medicare will cover their next virtual visit, and providers shouldn’t be forced to interrupt care delivery due to arbitrary telehealth deadlines. The Alliance is proud to sign the Organizational Pledge to Advocate for Permanent Medicare Telehealth in 2026, which represents an important step to protecting access to telehealth in hospice and home health programs.”
National Association of Family Nurse Practitioners (NAFNP)
“Permanent telehealth access in Medicare is essential to maintaining safe, timely, and accessible care for older adults and people with disabilities. Many beneficiaries—especially those in rural, frontier, and underserved urban communities—depend on virtual visits to reach their primary care and specialty providers without transportation barriers or long wait times. Telehealth has proven to improve continuity of care, support chronic disease management, and expand access to behavioral health services. Making these flexibilities permanent ensures that Medicare beneficiaries can continue receiving high‑quality care in the setting that best meets their needs.”
PAs in Virtual Medicine and Telemedicine (PAVMT)
“PAVMT was founded to help expand access to healthcare for communities facing barriers to care, including transportation challenges, mobility limitations, geographic isolation, and healthcare disparities affecting underserved and minority populations. Through advocacy, innovation, education, and collaboration, PAVMT supports Physician Associates/Assistants in telemedicine as they work to deliver accessible, patient-centered virtual care and help close gaps in healthcare access.”
Patients Rising
“Telehealth has become an essential lifeline for millions of patients and caregivers across the country. Patients Rising believes patients should not lose access to safe, convenient, and effective care options simply because temporary policies expire. We are proud to support efforts to preserve permanent telehealth access for Medicare beneficiaries and the patients who depend on these services every day,” said Terry Wilcox, Co-Founder and Chief Patient Advocate at Patients Rising.
Peace Of Mind Inc
“I have a small private practice in a rural area and see clients from the area, some of whom are unable to travel for therapy. I also see clients in other areas of Virginia, some of whom would be on waiting lists due to a shortage of providers even in urban areas. Telehealth allows more people to be able to access services because travel and travel time is eliminated for those who have transportation challenges and those who have tight schedules.”
PMPITeleMed
“PMPITeleMed proudly supports the Telehealth Voters Pledge and urges Congress to make Medicare telehealth flexibilities permanent in 2026. Telehealth expands access to quality care for seniors, rural communities, and underserved populations while improving continuity of care and patient choice. Permanent telehealth policies will help ensure equitable, affordable, and accessible healthcare for millions of Medicare beneficiaries nationwide.”
Knoxville Family Psychiatry
“Telehealth revolutionized client care, it dramatically expands access for rural and homebound patients. The time and cost savings advantages help with the increase cost of transportation and prevent any loss of wages.”
Psychological Services of North Texas
“Permanent access to telehealth visits helps make mental health care more accessible for people who may face barriers such as transportation issues, busy schedules, physical disabilities, or living in rural areas. Expanding access to mental health services through telehealth can improve emotional well-being, reduce untreated mental health concerns, and ensure more people receive the support they need in a timely manner.”
Retired Type I Diabetic – Patient Story
“I’m a retired academic librarian from Lebanon, KY. I’m a Type1 Diabetic on Medicare and use a rollator. I don’t have a car and must rely on relatives to get me to doctor’s appointments. The Medicine Telehealth benefit is a godsend to me. My appointments are easier to schedule and the provider sees my living environment and can make recommendations in a more timely manner. Telehealth makes sense for rural America.”
Rocket Doctor
“As an Emergency physician I see countless patients come to the hospital for issues that could have been resolved through an out-patient telehealth visit. Telehealth flexibilities for Medicare revolutionized the ability for seniors and vulnerable patients to obtain care with dignity, easily and efficiently from the comfort of a location outside the four walls of the hospital. Telehealth saves cost in the system, improves quality of life, and, when done correctly, makes our system more robust and effective. I whole-heartedly support telehealth flexibilities being made permanent, for the betterment of our healthcare system,” said Dr. William Cherniak, CEO & Founder of Rocket Doctor.
Society of General Internal Medicine
“The Society of General Internal Medicine strongly believes that telehealth has a vital role to play in improving access to care for all patients.”
South Carolina Advocates For Epilepsy
“South Carolina Advocates For Epilepsy (S.A.F.E.) is proud to join the Telehealth Voters Movement in support of expanding access to quality healthcare through telehealth. For many people living with epilepsy, driving is not an option due to uncontrolled seizures or state driving restrictions, making access to specialized medical care especially challenging. Telehealth helps remove transportation barriers, reduces missed appointments, and connects patients with neurologists and epilepsy specialists without the burden of traveling long distances. We believe telehealth is a vital tool for improving health outcomes and ensuring equitable access to care for the epilepsy community.”
The Thrive Center for Hope and Healing LLC
“At The Thrive Center for Hope and Healing, we strongly support efforts to make Medicare telehealth flexibilities permanent. For many individuals, especially those navigating trauma, chronic mental health concerns, transportation barriers, medical limitations, or limited provider access, telehealth has become a vital and life changing pathway to care. Maintaining access to telehealth helps reduce barriers, improve continuity of treatment, and ensure that people can receive compassionate, consistent mental health support in a way that is accessible and sustainable for them. We believe access to quality mental health care should not be limited by geography, mobility, or circumstance.”
Turner Syndrome Society of the United States
“The advantages of telehealth for Medicare patients far outweigh the disadvantages. For people with chronic conditions and small or non-existent support systems, their health may depend on access to telehealth.”
U.S. Pain Foundation
“Many of our members are disabled by chronic pain so getting to doctor’s appointment, finding parking and waiting in lines or taking public transportation to healthcare provider appointments is difficult for them at best. Telehealth was a big silver lining we discovered through the pandemic and the temporary extension of Medicare Telehealth flexibilities has been invaluable. We are eager to see these Telehealth flexibilities be made permanent.”
Vestibular Disorders Association
“The Vestibular Disorders Association (VeDA) supports permanent Medicare telehealth policies that preserve and expand access to medically necessary care, including for people living with vestibular disorders, many of whom face significant barriers to in-person care due to dizziness, imbalance, fall risk, fatigue, transportation challenges, and a shortage of vestibular specialists—particularly in rural and underserved communities. Telehealth has proven to be a vital tool for improving access to expert consultation, follow-up care, patient education, and care coordination, helping patients receive timely support while reducing the physical and financial burden of travel. VeDA believes permanent telehealth access is essential to equitable, patient-centered care.”
Wind River Parkinson’s Group
“Wyoming is a frontier state with no movement disorder specialists and half a dozen neurologists. We depend upon telehealth to communicate with providers and to learn more about Parkinson’s Disease.”
Young Adults with Epilepsy
“At Young Adults with Epilepsy (YAWE), we strongly support the Telehealth Voters Pledge 2026 because access to care should never depend on geography, transportation, or a person’s ability to safely travel.
“For many young adults living with epilepsy and other neurological conditions, telehealth has been life-changing. The inability to drive is one of the most significant yet overlooked barriers facing people with epilepsy. Studies show that many individuals with epilepsy either temporarily lose driving privileges or are unable to drive due to ongoing seizure activity, with research suggesting only about 25–40% of people with epilepsy actively drive depending on seizure control and severity.
“Telehealth has allowed young adults to connect with neurologists, mental health providers, peer support programs, and follow-up care in ways that reduce stress, missed appointments, financial burden, and health risks. For those who cannot drive due to seizures, telehealth is not simply a convenience — it is a critical lifeline.
“We have seen firsthand how virtual access improves continuity of care, supports mental health, empowers independence, and helps families stay connected to essential resources. This is especially important for underserved and rural communities where specialty epilepsy care may be hours away. The CDC also notes that adults with epilepsy often delay care because of transportation barriers.
“YAWE believes telehealth must remain protected, expanded, and accessible for the millions of Americans living with chronic neurological conditions. We are proud to support the Telehealth Voters Pledge 2026 and advocate for policies that prioritize equitable, patient-centered healthcare access for all.”
Alliance Applauds Committee for Passage of RPM Access Act During Markup
The Alliance for Connected Care applauds the House Ways and Means Committee for advancing the bipartisan Rural Patient Monitoring Access Act (H.R. 3108) by a vote of 39-0. The legislation would help address geographic reimbursement disparities that can discourage rural providers from offering this important care.
RPM gives clinicians real-time insight into changes in patients’ health, enabling earlier intervention, preventing avoidable hospitalizations, and expanding access for Medicare beneficiaries managing chronic conditions in areas with limited provider availability.
The Alliance urges the full House to build on the Committee’s unanimous action and pass the legislation.
Read the Alliance’s letter of support here and a group letter of support that the Alliance led here.
Alliance Urges HHS to Prioritize Telehealth in SUD Care
The Alliance for Connected Care submitted comments to HHS’s request for comments on policy priorities to advance care for substance use disorder (SUD) under the Great American Recovery Initiative. Telehealth is uniquely equipped to expand and scale behavioral health care, especially for prevention and treatment. The Alliance urged HHS to work with the Drug Enforcement Administration to make permanent flexibilities that allow telemedicine prescribing of controlled substances (like medication for opioid use disorder); current flexibilities end on December 31, 2026, putting patient care and safety at risk.
Read the full comments here or below:
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