THE ATA AND ATA ACTION SUBMIT DETAILED COMMENTS ON CY2025 PHYSICIAN FEE SCHEDULE – AND URGE CMS TO PUSH CONGRESS TO ACT SWIFTLY TO EXTEND OR MAKE PERMANENT MEDICARE TELEHEALTH FLEXIBILITIES

WASHINGTON, AUGUST 28, 2024 – The American Telemedicine Association (ATA) and ATA Action today submitted detailed comments to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) in response to the calendar year (CY) 2025 Physician Fee Schedule proposed rule. The ATA and ATA Action also urged CMS to advocate for Congress to swiftly extend or make permanent the Medicare telehealth flexibilities as soon as possible, before the December 31 deadline.

“We applaud CMS for maintaining and extending as many of the Medicare telehealth flexibilities as possible within its regulatory authority, but without an active Public Health Emergency, the agency must rely on congressional action to ensure clarity and continuity for statutory telehealth policies beyond CY2024,” said Kyle Zebley, Senior Vice President, Public Policy, the ATA and Executive Director, ATA Action. “We urge CMS and the Administration to advocate for Congress to swiftly extend or make permanent pandemic-era Medicare telehealth flexibilities to allow uninterrupted access to safe, affordable and appropriate care when and where it’s needed. Otherwise, the good work CMS and the Administration have done will be significantly diminished and access to clinically appropriate care for millions of beneficiaries will abruptly disappear in just 125 days.

“Without Congressional action before year-end, we’re not just going to get dragged back to how telehealth looked in January of 2020, we’re going to get dragged all the way back to 1997,” added Zebley.  “That was the year Congress passed Section 1834(m) of the Social Security Act, which severely restricts the delivery of telehealth services to only certain rural areas and specific physical locations, such as hospitals and physicians’ offices. These outdated limitations would undo over a half-decade of meaningful and substantial progress, and reverting to these old restrictions will severely hamper access to telehealth services that millions of Americans now rely on.”

The ATA and ATA Action submitted detailed comments in response to the CY2025 PFS, and underscored the urgency for Congress to act as soon as possible to extend or make permanent the Medicare telehealth flexibilities, including:

• Waiving geographic and originating site restrictions.
• Maintaining coverage for audio-only services.
• Allowing Rural Health Clinics (RHCs) and Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) be reimbursed for providing telehealth services.
• Delaying the telemental health prior in-person requirement.
• Maintaining the expansion of the Medicare Telehealth Provider list to include physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech therapy (PT/OT/ST) to ensure these providers can be reimbursed for telehealth services.
• Accessing virtual cardiac and pulmonary rehabilitation services.
• Preserving the Acute Hospital Care at Home Program.
• Allowing virtual diabetes prevention platforms and supplies to participate in the Medicare Diabetes Prevention Program.

Read the full ATA and ATA Action Comment Letter to CMS here.

“The ATA and ATA Action strongly believe that Congress will maintain the Medicare telehealth flexibilities after 2024, given recent Congressional legislative movement on telehealth and conversations we’ve had with committees of jurisdiction and leadership. However, as soon as telehealth legislation is enacted, we strongly advise the Administration, in coordination with CMS, to quickly issue guidance to healthcare providers and other stakeholders to eliminate confusion and ensure the smooth implementation of regulatory telehealth policies beyond 2024,” Zebley said. “We remain grateful to CMS and the Administration for recognizing the importance of telehealth and for the extensive bipartisan, bicameral consensus in Congress to extend these telehealth flexibilities. We will continue to work closely with policymakers to ensure that telehealth becomes a permanent care modality in a modernized healthcare system.”

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).

About the ATA

As the only organization completely focused on advancing telehealth, the American Telemedicine Association is committed to ensuring that everyone has access to safe, affordable, and appropriate care when and where they need it, enabling the system to do more good for more people. The ATA represents a broad and inclusive member network of leading healthcare delivery systems, academic institutions, technology solution providers and payers, as well as partner organizations and alliances, working to advance industry adoption of telehealth, promote responsible policy, advocate for government and market normalization, and provide education and resources to help integrate virtual care into emerging value-based delivery models.

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