ATA calls for short-term solution to lapsed telehealth flexibilities 

WASHINGTON – ATA Action, the advocacy arm of the American Telehealth Association (ATA) is calling on Congress and the administration to quickly enact a short-term solution to what it says are escalating disruptions in patient care. “The expiration of Medicare telehealth flexibilities has an immediate and deeply concerning impact on patients and providers across the communities we serve,” said Sara Collins, assistant vice president, Professional Medical Affairs and Telehealth for Lifepoint Health, and a member of the ATA Policy Council. “Lifepoint hospitals and clinics operate in rural and underserved regions which depend on telehealth to connect patients with specialists, behavioral health providers, and hospital-level care that would otherwise be out of reach.” With the lapse of the Medicare telehealth flexibilities, there is growing uncertainty in the marketplace, and concern that commercial payers could soon follow suit if Congress and the Administration do not act quickly, the ATA says. While the ATA continues to push for a permanent solution, it urges Congress and the administration to enact a short-term solution to restore Medicare telehealth flexibilities and the Acute Hospital Care at Home program during the current government shutdown. “President Trump wisely passed these flexibilities in 2020, at the outset of the pandemic,” said Kyle Zebley, executive director, ATA Action and senior vice president, public policy at the ATA. “The President and countless members of Congress, from both parties, have championed telehealth as an important part of a modernized healthcare delivery system, and for that we are grateful. Now is the time to, once again, set aside political differences and prioritize the health of Americans, including many of the most vulnerable, to ensure that patients have access to needed healthcare, where and when they need it.” 

• Read more on the ATA’s take on the current lapse in telehealth flexibilities here.