House Reps Introduce Bills to make Telehealth Flexibilities Permanent

Two bills recently introduced in the House aim to permanently extend rural telehealth access and expand the list of practitioners able to provide virtual care.The first bill would permanently allow federally qualified health centers (FQHCs) and rural health clinics (RHCs) to provide telehealth services. FQHCs and RHCs began receiving reimbursement for telehealth services through the Medicare program during the COVID-19 pandemic. This flexibility is currently set to expire at the end of 2024.“Rural communities, like those in Wisconsin’s Third District, are routinely left on the sidelines when it comes to accessible health care,” said Van Orden in a press release. “We recently had multiple hospitals in the rural parts of my district shut down with little notice, and now many of my constituents are without nearby medical services. Expanding telehealth access is an important step in bridging the gap between rural and urban communities and helps ensure that folks, no matter where they are, can receive safe, quality care.”