Support for telehealth expansion is growing both on and off the Hill, but members of Congress disagree on whether this expansion should be temporary or permanent. In December 2021, Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-TX) introduced the “Telehealth Extension Act,” which features a mix of both permanent expansions and temporary extensions. Among the many provisions, Doggett’s bill would permanently remove the site-based and geographical restrictions, while also authorizing a two-year extension of the telehealth emergency waivers. Similarly, and more recently, on February 7, 2022, Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), with co-sponsor Sen. Todd Young (R-IN), introduced the “Telehealth Extension and Evaluation Act,” which would extend current telehealth emergency waivers for two years and require the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to conduct a study evaluating the effects of telehealth expansion on health care utilization and fraud.
Generally, medical experts and patient advocacy groups support lifting the site-based and geographical constraints as proposed in Rep. Doggett’s bill due to the disproportional impact these restrictions can have on people with disabilities. Moreover, while supporting telehealth expansion, groups have also advocated for parity for in-person and telehealth visits, so patients and healthcare professionals can conduct their visits in the manner that is most appropriate for the patient’s needs. Further, while many stakeholders would prefer a permanent expansion of the telehealth waivers, more than 300 groups have supported the temporary extension as a pathway leading to permanent expansion without anti-fraud guardrails. To learn more about policies relating to telehealth coverage and expansion, visit Aimed Alliance’s Telehealth Coverage and Access Priorities page here.
Last Updated on February 10, 2022 by Aimed Alliance
