Congress Must Act As Telehealth Cliff Rapidly Approaches at End of Month
Millions of patients, including six million seniors, will lose access to virtual care at the end of this month if Congress does not urgently enact permanent telehealth protections. Despite telehealth advances and widespread adoption, Medicare telehealth flexibilities will expire on March 31, leaving patients and providers at risk of losing access to care.
Congress initially granted Medicare telehealth flexibilities in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the latest extension has covered digital health services through the end of this month. As TAFA outlined in a letter to the Trump administration last month, Congress must act now to permanently protect access to virtual care to benefit both patients and providers.
President Trump previously stated that telehealth is a “critical part of our path forward” regarding American health care. Newly appointed Secretary of the United States Health and Human Services (HHS), Robert F. Kennedy Jr., noted before being confirmed, “I look forward to working with Congress to ensure that innovative modes of care delivery, such as telehealth, will maximize quality and access to care for Medicare beneficiaries.” Furthermore, lawmakers in Congress have expressed support for telehealth and rallied a bipartisan effort of over 100 members of Congress to sign a letter calling for permanent telehealth legislation.
Virtual care has been shown to deliver improved patient outcomes, especially for seniors who face tremendous barriers to care, including transportation obstacles, rising costs, and limited mobility. In fact, thousands of health care providers expressed that a top advantage of telehealth is improving health care for seniors. Other underserved patients and communities also benefit from telehealth for these reasons. For instance, more than six million people in the U.S. suffer from opioid use disorder, and federal research has found that these patients are significantly more likely to maintain consistent use of medication and experience lower risks of overdose through telehealth.
Health care providers have likewise sounded the alarm over the telehealth cliff deadline. Physicians find telehealth to be a convenient and successful outlet for treating patients, as a CDC survey noted that 76 percent of primary care physicians find they can provide a similar quality of care through telehealth visits as in-person visits. Recent studies highlighted in Inside Telehealth found that virtual care appointments serve as a substitute for in-person care, leading to significant cost savings in Medicare and Medicaid programs.
Patients cannot afford to lose out on these critical services. Congress must no longer delay or push telehealth coverage further down the calendar. Action must be taken now to safeguard telehealth permanently before the looming deadline on March 31st.
Learn more about how Congress can act to protect telehealth HERE.
ABOUT TELEHEALTH ACCESS FOR AMERICA
Telehealth Access for America (TAFA) is a public education campaign supported by leaders in health care committed to better care, expanded patient choice, and protecting access to critical telehealth services. Learn more at www.telehealthaccessforamerica.org.