ROAD TO THE TELEHEALTH “SUPER BOWL”: ATA ACTION CAPITOL HILL DRIVE
WASHINGTON, DC, JUNE 12, 2024 – ATA Action, the American Telemedicine Association’s affiliated trade association focused on advocacy, hosted its 2nd annual Hill Day, bringing nearly two dozen ATA Action members to Capitol Hill for meetings with Congressional leaders to discuss top federal telehealth policy priorities. ATA Action members underscored the ATA and ATA Action playbook for comprehensive, permanent telehealth reform, including passage of the CONNECT for Health Act (H.R. 4189, S. 2016), the Telehealth Modernization Act (HR 7623, S.3967) and the Advancing Access to Telehealth Act (HR 7711).
“This well-timed Hill Day accomplished our goal, to keep telehealth access front-and-center in the minds of our Congressional champions and underscore the urgent need for Congress to act now to give patients and providers certainty about the continued availability of telehealth services,” said Kyle Zebley, senior vice president, public policy, the ATA and executive director, ATA Action. “We continue to hammer home the fact that access to telehealth is essential for delivering safe, effective, quality care to all individuals, including those in rural and underserved communities, as part of a modernized healthcare system.
“As we continue to seek permanent access to virtual care services, we remain grateful to the unwavering bipartisan, bicameral support for appropriate and necessary policies to ensure citizens have access to often life-saving telehealth services, when and where they need it. But the clock is ticking. We need Congress to act now, so that appropriate telehealth policies are implemented in a timely manner without arbitrary and unnecessary barriers to care such as in-person, brick-and-mortar, or geographic requirements,” Zebley added. “We are also eager to see our Senate champions act on these important telehealth policies.”
ATA Action members participating in Hill Day included a diverse range of organizations advocating for telehealth. Members of ATA Action’s Patient Voices for Telehealth Coalition also joined Hill Day meetings.
About ATA Action
ATA Action recognizes that telehealth and virtual care have the potential to transform the healthcare delivery system by improving patient outcomes, enhancing the safety and effectiveness of care, addressing health disparities, and reducing costs. ATA Action is a registered 501c6 entity and an affiliated trade organization of the American Telemedicine Association (ATA).
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