The Task Force Joins Coalition Letter Regarding Priorities for Medicare Telehealth Reform

The Health Care Transformation Task Force joined 430 organizations in a letter urging policymakers to advance permanent telehealth reform focused on the following priorities:

  1. Remove Obsolete Restrictions on the Location of the Patient and Provider. Congress must permanently remove the Section 1834(m) geographic and originating site restrictions to ensure that all patients can access care where they are.
  2. Maintain and Enhance HHS Authority to Determine Appropriate Providers, Services, and Modalities for Telehealth. Congress should provide the Secretary with the flexibility to expand the list of eligible practitioners who may furnish clinically appropriate telehealth services. Similarly, Congress should ensure that HHS and CMS maintain the authority to add or remove eligible telehealth services through a predictable, transparent regulatory process. Lastly, Congress should give CMS the authority to reimburse for multiple telehealth modalities, including audio-only services, when clinically appropriate.
  3. Ensure Federally Qualified Health Centers, Critical Access Hospitals, and Rural Health Clinics Can Furnish Telehealth Services After the Public Health Emergency. Congress should ensure that FQHCs, CAHs, and RHCs can offer virtual services post-COVID and work with stakeholders to support fair and appropriate reimbursement for these key safety net providers.
  4. Remove Restrictions on Medicare Beneficiary Access to Mental and Behavioral Health Services Offered Through Telehealth. Congress should reject the arbitrary restrictions that would require an in-person visit prior to a mental or behavioral telehealth visit.

 

Read the Letter