Alliance Coleads Letter in Support of Telehealth Commercial Market
The Alliance for Connected Care joined other leading digital health associations to support Sec. 71306 of the Senate amendment to H.R. 1, which allows for permanent extension of safe harbor for absence of deductible for telehealth services, and urge inclusion in the final bill.
SEC. 71306. PERMANENT EXTENSION OF SAFE HARBOR FOR ABSENCE OF DEDUCTIBLE FOR TELEHEALTH SERVICES.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Subparagraph (E) of section 223(c)(2) is amended to read as follows: ‘‘(E) SAFE HARBOR FOR ABSENCE OF DE9 DUCTIBLE FOR TELEHEALTH.—A plan shall not fail to be treated as a high deductible health plan by reason of failing to have a deductible for telehealth and other remote care services.’’.
(b) CERTAIN COVERAGE DISREGARDED.—Clause (ii) of section 223(c)(1)(B) is amended by striking ‘‘(in the case of months or plan years to which paragraph (2)(E) applies)’’.
(c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by this section shall apply to plan years beginning after December 31, 2024.
Full comments can be found here or below:
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Open in new tab Alliance Urges House Ways and Means Health Subcommittee to Harness the Power of Digital Health Data Through Telehealth and RPM
The Alliance for Connected Care submitted comments to the House Ways and Means Health Subcommittee for its hearing, “Health at Your Fingertips: Harnessing the Power of Digital Health Data” on June 25, 2025.
Advancements in digital health have leveraged greater flexibility in care, optimized the remote workforce to meet America’s health needs, and enhanced seamless data flow across patients, practitioners, and settings. Harnessing the power of digital health data through telehealth and RPM allows providers to better manage patients with chronic conditions, high-risk post-acute circumstances, and low access to care otherwise.
We need to modernize practice and payment requirements to unlock the full potential of digital health data, optimize virtual care, and ensure that patients and providers do not have to think about practice or payment barriers when considering the right modality for medical treatment. Clinicians should have the ability to provide the care delivery method best for their patients—from RPM to telehealth visits—knowing that they can generate, use, and share secure digital health data to create a higher quality, more efficient health care system.
Full comments can be found here or below:
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Alliance Urges ONDCP to Work and Maintain Comprehensive Access to Telehealth
The Alliance for Connected Care submitted input on the Office of National Drug Control Policy’s 2026 National Drug Control Strategy.
The Alliance emphasized the importance of maintaining comprehensive access to telehealth, because it is often an essential part of treatment for mental health conditions and substance use disorders and supports long-term recovery.
The Alliance urged ONDCP to continue its work with the federal agencies, including the Drug Enforcement Administration, to ensure that all clinically appropriate options are on the table for the treatment and prevention of mental health conditions and substance use disorders. Specifically, access to non-narcotic mental health treatments via telehealth can serve as a preventive measure—helping individuals avoid turning to illicit drugs. For individuals with SUD living in rural areas, telehealth is often the only lifeline to treatment.
Read the letter here or below:
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Alliance Urges Senate Finance Committee on Commercial Market Telehealth
The Alliance for Connected Care sent a letter to the Senate Finance Committee Republicans, urging for reconsideration the omission of commercial market telehealth flexibility in the reconciliation package. Employers and health plans need certainty around the availability of these services in order to finalize benefits for the 2026 plan year.
Specifically, Senator Daines’ Telehealth Expansion Act of 2025 would restore the safe harbor that allowed employers and health plans to provide pre-deductible coverage of telehealth services for individuals with a high-deductible health plan coupled with a health savings account (HDHP-HSA). This flexibility is crucial for the more than 32 million Americans with these plans. As it stands, many of these individuals lost access to care they used in 2024 due to the expiration of statutory flexibility at the start of 2025.
Full letter can be found below or here.
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Alliance Calls on CMS to Modernize the Delivery of Health Care to Unlock Full Potential of Digital Health
The Alliance for Connected Care submitted comments to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), Assistant Secretary for Technology Policy/Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ASTP/ONC), Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Health Technology Ecosystem request for information.
The Alliance believes that the delivery of health care should be seamless across modalities. The Alliance calls on CMS to leverage this Health Technology Ecosystem effort to –
- Ensure that patients and providers do not have to think about practice or payment barriers when considering the right modality for medical treatment.
- Modernize practice and payment requirements to unlock full potential of digital health – beyond what is possible with in-person care.
Read the letter here or below:
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Alliance Urges IRS to Act on Telehealth in 2025-2026 Priority Guidance Plan
The Alliance urged the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to include guidance on an expired pandemic-era policy that enabled employers to provide telehealth services on a pre-deductible basis to individuals with high-deductible health plans coupled with a health savings account (HDHP-HSA) in its 2025-2026 Priority Guidance Plan.
As you may know, Section 3701 of the CARES Act created a temporary safe harbor that allowed employers and health plans to provide pre-deductible coverage of telehealth services for individuals with a high-deductible health plan coupled with a health savings account (HDHP-HSA) for the more than 32 million Americans. In December 2022, Congress extended this flexibility through December 31, 2024. In a letter to the IRS, members of Congress expressed concern about the cliff for patients when this policy expired. The concern brought forth by the members of Congress has come to pass and this important policy ended December 2024.
Read the letter here or below:
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Alliance Urges DOJ Anticompetitive Regulations Task Force to Address Anticompetitive Practices
The Alliance submitted a response to the Department of Justice Anticompetitive Regulations Task Force request for public comment to identify unnecessary laws and regulations that raise the highest barriers to competition.
The Alliance for Connected Care (the “Alliance”) outlines four areas where we hope the Department of Justice Task Force will focus to improve care for patients, and ease the burden for providers.
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Alliance Urges Federal Trade Commission to Address Anticompetitive Practices
The Alliance submitted a response to the Federal Trade Commission’s request for public comment regarding reducing anti-competitive regulatory barriers in health care. Our health care system is deeply impacted by anticompetitive practices.
The Alliance appreciates the Federal Trade Commission’s long-standing work to reform occupational licensing regulations, removing anticompetitive practices. In particular, the FTC investigated options to enhance occupational license portability in 2017, which acknowledged that individual state licensing regulations reduced access to critical services, like telehealth, or increased prices to ordinary consumers. The FTC’s Economic Liberty Task Force held a roundtable, which examined ways to mitigate the negative effects of state-based occupational licensing requirements.
Competition is at the core of America’s economy and vigorous competition among providers utilizing telehealth in an open marketplace gives consumers the benefits of lower prices, higher quality products and services, and increased innovation. License portability benefits both providers practicing across state lines, as well as consumers who seek better access to services. The Alliance encourages the FTC to continue its work in removing anticompetitive and burdensome licensure requirements for health care providers.
The Alliance outlined four areas where we hope the FTC will focus to improve care for patients, and ease the burden for providers.
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The Rural Patient Monitoring Access Act
April 30, 2025 – Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Mark Warner (D-VA), and Representatives David Kustoff (R-TN), Mark Pocan (D-WI), Troy Balderson (R-OH), and Don Davis (D-NC) introduced the Rural Patient Monitoring (RPM) Access Act (S. 1535/H.R. 3108), which would ensure Medicare patients in rural and underserved communities have access to remote physiologic monitoring services, which lower costs and improve access to care by using technology to collect and transmit patient health data to healthcare providers.
Bill Links – Bill Text | One Pager
Press Releases – Sen Blackburn (R-TN) | Sen Warner (D-VA) | Rep Kustoff (R-TN)
Alliance Statements:
“Ascension is committed to caring for all persons, with special attention to vulnerable communities like rural seniors. The Rural Patient Monitoring Act would help strengthen the delivery of care for patients with conditions that put them at risk of rehospitalization – keeping them healthier, allowing them to remain at home, and lowering costs to Medicare.” – Eduardo Conrado, President of Ascension
“This legislation validates what’s already clear in the data: proactive remote care works. It keeps America’s seniors healthy and at home, and saves Medicare money. By aligning reimbursement with outcomes, Congress is pushing the system in the right direction, toward prevention.” – Chris Altchek, CEO and founder of Cadence
“The Alliance for Connected Care applauds RPM Access Act leaders for their effort to ensure rural patients have access to high-quality, innovative patient-centered care. Remote patient monitoring has a huge potential to empower rural seniors with technology and take accountability for their own health.” Chris Adamec, Executive Director, The Alliance for Connected Care
Member of Congress Statements:
“Medicare beneficiaries in rural and underserved areas often face serious barriers to health care, and they deserve better,” said Sen. Blackburn. “The Rural Patient Monitoring Access Act would ensure Tennessee Medicare patients have access to high-quality remote physiologic monitoring services to manage chronic conditions and help patients eliminate unnecessary hospital visits.”
“Too often, patients are struggling to receive the medical care they need because of how difficult it is to see a doctor in person,” said Sen. Warner. “Remote monitoring services offer a life-saving solution, expanding care options and allowing individuals to regularly receive the medical consultations they need, all while lowering costs and hospital admissions. I’m proud to introduce the Rural Patient Monitoring Access Act to improve health care services for our seniors.”
“Expanding access to healthcare in rural West Tennessee has been a priority of mine in Washington,” said Congressman Kustoff. “The RPM Access Act is important legislation that will help doctors and nurses monitor patients remotely. I urge my colleagues to support this bill to help provide Americans with good-quality healthcare no matter their location.”
Alliance Sends CMS “Shovel-Ready” Digital Health Priorities
The Alliance congratulates Dr. Mehmet Oz on being confirmed as the Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).
We look forward to working with Dr. Oz in continuing the transformation of health care in the United States, through technology-enabled care that meets patients where they are and creates cost-saving efficiencies for the federal government. There are many antiquated restrictions on care that stand in the way of our technology-enabled future.
Below, please find Alliance for Connected Care’s list of “shovel-ready” regulatory issues that CMS either has the authority to act on without Congressional action or that would benefit from CMS subject matter expertise.
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