HOUSE LEADERS MOVE TO PROTECT ACCESS TO TELEHEALTH POST-COVID-19
July 16, 2020 – The Alliance for Connected Care (“The Alliance”) is pleased to support the bipartisan Protecting Access to Post-Covid-19 Telehealth Act and we applaud Representatives Thompson (D-CA), Welch (D-VT), Schweikert (R-AZ) Johnson (R-OH) and Matsui (D-CA) for their leadership on this important bill.
“Telehealth services have been a lifeline for more than 9 million seniors during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Protecting Access to Post-COVID-19 Telehealth Act will ensure that this access does not disappear once the coronavirus emergency is over,” said Krista Drobac, Executive Director of the Alliance for Connected Care. “We encourage all Representatives to cosponsor this important legislation.”
The Alliance has long worked with legislators to eliminate outdated 1834(m) originating site and geographic restrictions including longstanding work to support the bipartisan, bicameral Creating Opportunities Now for Necessary and Effective Care Technologies (CONNECT) for Health Act. However, in light of the central role telehealth has played in supporting our national response to COVID-19, we are pleased to also endorse the more direct action taken by this bill.
Recently, the Alliance helped convene 340 organizations on a letter calling for Congress to make several meaningful and permanent action to address statutory barriers to telehealth. Those groups uniformly called for the removal of obsolete restrictions on the location of the patient, expanded HHS authority to determine appropriate providers and services for telehealth, continued telehealth payment for Federally Qualified Health Centers and Rural Health Clinics, and an automatic waiver HHS waiver authority for future emergencies. This legislation takes decisive action on three of those goals.
The Alliance is dedicated to improving access to care through the adoption of telemedicine and remote patient monitoring. Our membership brings together diverse industry leaders – from providers of direct patient engagement to physician consultation and remote monitoring, as well as the connected care technologies that are already facilitating the future of health care delivery. Members of the Alliance for Connected Care have seen firsthand how expanded access to telehealth and remote patient monitoring can better coordinate care, create economic efficiencies, and drive better health outcomes.
More information on the Legislation:
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