Telehealth coverage expires on December 31st, and if extensions are not in place before then, Medicare seniors will lose services. This has prompted Representative David Schweikert (R-AZ) to lead a bipartisan letter calling for the extension of telehealth coverage, calling it "by far the most moral and bipartisan method of providing access to care."
As Rep. Schweikert's letter explained, "Telehealth plays a critical role in health care delivery – a fact that Congress has recognized by expanding coverage during and after the COVID-19 public health emergency," adding that the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023 created a two-year extension of coverage.
"We ask you to prioritize provisions that remove geographic restrictions on telehealth services and permit the home and other clinically appropriate settings as originating sites. Congress should also expand the authority for practitioners eligible to furnish telehealth services. Rural and underserved communities rely on telehealth services, and Congress should recognize federally qualified health centers and rural health clinics as telehealth distant site providers," Rep. Schweikert continued.
Moreover, other provisions requested in the letter include removing the six-month in-person visit requirement for mental healthcare and allowing telehealth for hospice care recertification.
The letter concluded by noting that telehealth services have improved medication adherence and reduced emergency service utilization, and support for permanent telehealth legislation is strongly bipartisan within Congress.
"Technology is critical in expanding access to care for not only Arizonans but for citizens across the United States. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, telehealth provided effective, affordable, and accommodating means of care. Telehealth is by far the most moral and bipartisan method of providing access to care, and we owe it to our everyday health heroes, physicians, and patients to ensure this resource is always available," said Schweikert in his press release.
The Arizona Congressman previously spoke with Cactus Politics in March about the role of technology in American healthcare, telling us that "We need to think much more creatively and much differently and stop pretending that this sort of government model is the solution. Instead, it turns out that it actually comes through technology and incentives."
