WASHINGTON – Congressman Vern Buchanan today co-sponsored bipartisan legislation to permanently extend Medicare’s telehealth coverage beyond the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Protecting Access to Post-Covid-19 Telehealth Act would expand telephone and on-line virtual visits with doctors by removing restrictions for Medicare patients. Telehealth services allow patients to speak directly with their doctors via phone, video chat and online patient portals, referred to as “virtual check-ins.”
These services make it easier for seniors to avoid many in-office visits and instead receive care from a doctor in the safety of their home, significantly reducing the risk of coronavirus transmission.
“Extending telehealth services will allow seniors continued access to critical health care, including emergency medical attention and mental health services,” Buchanan said. “Telehealth has been essential to seniors who are extremely vulnerable to coronavirus.”
The number of seniors accessing telehealth services skyrocketed from 13,000 a week in March to more than 10 million a week in July. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 80 percent of deaths associated with COVID-19 were among adults 65 and older, with the highest fatality rates involving persons 85 and older.
In March, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) temporarily waived certain legal restrictions on telehealth services nationwide amid the burgeoning health care crisis. The Protecting Access to Post-Covid-19 Telehealth Act is designed to codify these temporary waivers into law going forward. Specifically, this bill would permanently eliminate the geographic restrictions that prevent seniors from outside rural areas from receiving telehealth services. It also repeals restrictions mandating that services are provided at medical facilities like hospitals and health clinics.
President Trump also has expressed a willingness to extend telehealth coverage. Earlier this week, he signed an executive order calling for the extension of telehealth services beyond the current public health emergency. However, this change would be subject to a lengthy regulatory process and could be reversed in the future without the passage of federal legislation.
According to CMS, the number of patients accessing telehealth services swelled from 13,000 per week in mid-March to more than 10 million per week in July.
In May, Buchanan co-sponsored the Advancing Connectivity during the Coronavirus to Ensure Support for Seniors (ACCESS) Act, which authorizes $50 million for the Department of Health and Human Services' Telehealth Resource Center to help nursing facilities receiving Medicare or Medicaid funding expand telehealth services. It also establishes grants for nursing homes to purchase technology so seniors can connect virtually with family members.
Buchanan represents the nation’s seventh oldest congressional district, with more than 225,000 seniors.
