Six years after the COVID pandemic, the virtues of remote health care are clear: Allowing patients to visit with their providers via phone or video call often means better access to health care for patients, including those in rural communities and those who struggle to leave their homes.
But the laws that regulate telehealth, as it’s known, have not kept pace with its rise and demand – at least not in the form of comprehensive legislation. Since the pandemic, Congress has funded telehealth largely on a stopgap basis, temporarily extending COVID-era flexibilities more than a dozen times in the last few years. Each time, the extension provides only temporary funding to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services – the nation’s largest funder of telehealth services.
The newest deadline for Congress to act on telehealth policy – the 15th deadline set on this issue since the COVID pandemic – is Jan. 30.Continue reading