Time ticks on telehealth as Trump, Congress mull health care policy

Telehealth has become a vital part of U.S. health care, but the nation is about a month away from severely hampering its use, advocates say.

Lawmakers need to take action to extend the telehealth rule flexibilities first granted for Medicare during the COVID-19 pandemic and that continue now. Those allowances will expire March 31.

Rep. Ro Khanna (D-California) this week announced he intends to introduce the new Telehealth Coverage Act to make permanent Medicare’s coverage for telemedicine.

In a statement, Khanna accused the administration of President Donald J. Trump of “stripping millions of American seniors of their coverage of telehealth on March 31.” On April 1, virtual visits held via video conference or telephone will no longer be covered, he said.

“This is going to impact over 12 million Americans, and the crazy thing is that the inspector generals have found that there's only 0.2% of fraud in telehealth,” Khanna’s announcement said. “So why are we taking telehealth away from millions of seniors who are homebound or who have difficulty leaving their homes? It is most devastating for rural Americans.”

ATA encourages action

He called for bipartisan action, and was not the only one to do so.

The American Telemedicine Association (ATA) this week published its letter to congressional leaders to “strongly urge you to take action in March to establish permanent or long-term access to telehealth.” Dozens of health care organizations and businesses signed on to the request to Senate Majority Leader Sen. John Thune (R-South Dakota), Senate Minority Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-New York), House Speaker Rep. Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana), and House Minority Leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-New York).

ATA has emphasized telehealth services have had strong bipartisan support since the pandemic. ATA cited at least four key reasons for maintaining it:

• It would provide certain for Medicare beneficiaries and the program.
• It strengthens the national health care workforce through flexible virtual staffing models.
• Reimbursement encourages ongoing investment in technology and in infrastructure, especially for physicians and other clinicians in rural and underserved communities.
• Health plans and employers gain flexibility in benefit plans, especially for high-deductible health plans.

Earlier this month, the association’s ATA Action also published a statement commending the Trump administration and Congress for bipartisan support. NBC News noted Khanna’s social media post on X, formerly Twitter, brought more public attention to the telehealth deadline of March 31.

A petition for change

Online activist website Change.org published a petition from oncologist Robert Hoyer, MD, who cited his own patients in rural southern Colorado as an example of success in using telemedicine.

“Many of my patients live in rural communities, far removed from immediate health care access, or are homebound due to their conditions,” his petition said. Rural patients have higher mortality rates, and longer travel distances are a barrier to treatment for people with cancer or multiple chronic conditions, Hoyer said.

“For patients living with a cancer diagnosis or chronic conditions, telehealth provides an important link to their care team. Telehealth also helps alleviate costly travel to medical appointments, time off work, and child care expenses,” the petition said.

As of Feb. 28, the petition had 21,044 signatures.