A bipartisan group of congressmen recently urged President Joe Biden to extend pandemic telehealth programs and provisions that were not part of Congress’s recent Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023.
In a letter sent April 21, eight lawmakers asked Biden to protect “additional telehealth flexibilities tied to the PHE” until Dec. 31, 2024 — the same date many other telehealth programs were extended to as a part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act.
The provisions include allowing prescriptions to be delivered by Drug Enforcement Agency-registered practitioners, permitting telehealth services to be included in the definition of direct supervision, making permanent Medicare billing codes and more — all of which are set to expire Thursday, when the nation’s public health emergency (PHE) ends.
The letter was signed by Reps. Don Bacon (R-NE), Sanford Bishop (D-GA), Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ), Marie Gluesenkamp-Perez (D-WA), Jen A. Kiggans (R-VA), Gabe Vasquez (D-NM), Brittany Pettersen (D-CO) and Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ) — who expressed concerns over telehealth after the PHE ends.
“As some flexibilities have been extended while others have not, we fear a patchwork system will confuse consumers, decrease healthcare access and endanger the telehealth system that has grown significantly over the past three years,” they wrote.
Other notable provisions the lawmakers want to include include allowing insurance companies to have mid-year changes that increase access to telehealth, and the authorization of interstate licensing.
“We encourage the administration to take swift action to protect expiring telehealth flexibilities beyond the PHE and continue to support telehealth expansion across all sectors of the U.S. healthcare market,” the letter said. “We also urge the various agencies of your administration to work in lockstep to develop uniform, cohesive, and integrated guidance and telehealth provisions that do not harm the functioning of the overall healthcare system and ease access to healthcare professionals for all American patients.”
