eHealth Initiative Supports Protecting Access to Post-COVID-19 Telehealth Act of 2020

Bipartisan Legislation Led by House Telehealth Caucus



FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Washington, DC – July 16, 2020 – Today, Representatives Mike Thompson (D-CA), David Schweikert (R—AZ), Peter Welch (D-VT), Bill Johnson (R-OH), and Doris Matsui (D-CA) introduced the Protecting Access to Post-COVID-19 Telehealth Act of 2020 to ensure Medicare beneficiaries can continue to access critical healthcare services after the COVID-19 public health emergency period.

The legislation comes after eHealth Initiative (eHI) joined other leading digital health associations and more than 300 organizations to send a letter to Congress outlining the immediate actions necessary to ensure CMS has the authority to continue to make telehealth services available once the national public health emergency is rescinded. The Protecting Access to Post-COVID-19 Telehealth Act of 2020 addresses nearly all priorities outlined in the letter, including:

• Removing arbitrary geographic restrictions on where a patient must be located in order to utilize telehealth services
• Ensuring federally qualified health centers and rural health centers can furnish telehealth services
• Making permanent the temporary waiver authority for the Secretary of Health & Human Services for future emergency periods and the 90 days after the rescinding of a public health emergency period

“The eHealth Initiative (eHI) is proud to support the Protecting Access to Post-COVID-19 Telehealth Act of 2020,” said eHI CEO Jennifer Covich Bordenick. “The legislation would once and for all remove arbitrary geographic restrictions on all Medicare telehealth services and ensure access for patients for whom traditional office visits don’t always work. We applaud Congressman Thompson and the House Telehealth Caucus for their continued leadership on telehealth and look forward to working with them to advance this critical legislation.”