The Alliance for Connected Care, American Telemedicine Association, College of Healthcare Information Management Executives, Connected Health Initiative, eHealth Initiative, Health Innovation Alliance, HIMSS and the PCHAlliance called on Congressional leaders to act to preserve access to telehealth as part of an end of year package.
“While we seek permanent reforms to enable Medicare beneficiaries to continue to access services via telehealth once the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE) ends, we write today to express our support for provisions, proposed by a bipartisan group of Senators, that would extend temporary telehealth flexibilities until the end of 2021 in an end-of-year package to fund the federal government. We believe this extension is a reasonable policy that will help provide certainty for patients and providers as we work together on permanent reform in 2021.”
“Since many of these needed policies are contingent upon the PHE, millions of Americans risk losing access to vital health care services unless you and your colleagues takes specific actions. Additionally, the continued risk of telehealth flexibilities ending with each subsequent 90-day renewal of the PHE adds additional uncertainty to an already strained health care delivery system. Patients and their health care professionals should not have to worry if they will be able to continue to receive or deliver necessary care.”
Read the Letter to Congressional Leaders on Extending Telehealth Flexbilities 12-11-2020
