Alliance Asks Congress to Differentiate Medicare Telehealth “Cliff” from Federal Funding Deadlines
The Alliance for Connected Care sent letters to Congress asking that Congress work to differentiate the Medicare telehealth “cliff” from the federal funding deadlines. If there is a short extension until December, we ask that you seek to mitigate the significant patient/provider disruption caused by the potential for a lapse.
Read the full letter to the Senate Finance Committee below:
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Open in new tab Alliance Leads Over 200 Organizations Letter to New DEA Administrator on Telehealth
The Alliance for Connected Care led a letter signed by over 200 organizations in a letter to Terry Cole, Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), requesting his leadership in ensuring that millions of Americans continue to have access to medically necessary health care through telemedicine after the current access deadline of December 31, 2025.
We are only 23 weeks away from access to the telemedicine services the DEA oversees ending. Given this approaching deadline, and widely recognized challenges with previous policy proposals, we encourage action by the DEA to:
- Engage directly with experts and stakeholders on policymaking that would continue access to telehealth while preventing diversion; and
- Ensure a plan is in place by the Fall of 2025 to prevent millions of Americans from losing access to their medical treatments in December of 2025.
“Expanding access to comprehensive telehealth services with clinically appropriate prescribing was a major policy achievement of the first Trump Administration. We urge Administrator Cole to take swift action to prevent its expiration in December.” – Chris Adamec, Executive Director, Alliance for Connected Care
Read the full letter below or here:
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Alliance for Connected Care Urges for Removal of Antiquated Restrictions that Stifles Innovation
The Alliance for Connected Care submitted comments to the Ensuring Lawful Regulation and Unleashing Innovation To Make America Healthy Again Request for Information.
Under the first Trump Administration, led by Seema Verma, telehealth and virtual care expanded, supporting greater access to care nationwide, including for the more than 30 million Americans in Medicare and many of the 33 million Americans with High-Deductible Health Plans and Health Savings Accounts.
As the Medicare population continues to age, and clinician shortages worsen, the use of technology to manage patients with multiple chronic conditions or in high-risk post-acute circumstances are not just an imperative, but a necessity. As the Trump Administration lays out its bold vision for to lessen regulatory burdens, evidence has demonstrated that telehealth can help reduce barriers to care by connecting patients, particularly rural Americans, to health care services and specialists. Several studies reveal that telehealth decreases travel time, improves communication with providers, increases access to care, and empowers patients to manage their chronic conditions.
In our comments below, we list regulations for HHS’ and OMB’s consideration for rescission as it stifles innovation. Its removal would promote the health and well-being of the American people.
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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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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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