Members of the House and Senate Telehealth Caucus have introduced the
CONNECT for Health Act, AHA-supported legislation that would expand access to telehealth for Medicare patients.
“Currently, 76% of U.S. hospitals connect with patients and consulting practitioners at a distance through the use of live voice and video and other supporting technologies. Yet, systemic barriers to widespread adoption of telehealth in the Medicare program remain,” AHA wrote in a letter of support.
The federal legislation would permit the expansion of telehealth for mental health services and emergency medical care in the Medicare program, along with the ability to waive restrictions on the use of telehealth during national and public health emergencies. The legislation also would appropriately expand the ability of rural health clinics and federally qualified health centers to provide telehealth services for their patients. These sites are important partners to hospitals, particularly in rural and underserved areas.
In Massachusetts, MHA convenes tMED, the Massachusetts Telemedicine Coalition, which supports HB991/SB612, sponsored by Rep. Thomas Golden (D-Lowell) and Sen. Jason Lewis (D-Winchester). The proposal would create a comprehensive definition of telemedicine that includes all technological formats; require coverage parity across all insurance types, including MassHealth and the Group Insurance Commission that are on-par with in-person visits; and allow for proxy credentialing for providers to reduce administrative burdens. Governor Baker’s recent healthcare reform legislation includes some elements of the pending bills; specifically, the governor’s proposal promotes telemedicine by establishing a regulatory framework for it that ensures coverage parity by prohibiting insurers from denying coverage based on the sole fact that the service is provided via telemedicine. It additionally includes an expansive definition of telemedicine that includes both interactive and asynchronous (that is, store and forward) technologies.