ATA ACTION LETTER TO CONGRESSIONAL LEADERSHIP OUTLINES TELEHEALTH PRIORITIES FOR 119TH CONGRESS
WASHINGTON, D.C., JANUARY 13, 2025 – With critical telehealth flexibilities set to expire on March 31, 2025, and key provisions already lapsed as of December 31, 2024, urgent action is needed to prevent millions of patients from losing access to essential virtual care services. ATA Action, the American Telemedicine Association’s affiliated trade association focused on advocacy, urges Congress to make these provisions permanent or extend them for as long as possible. In a letter to Senate Majority Leader John Thune, Senate Democratic Leader Charles Schumer, House Speaker Mike Johnson, and House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jefferies, ATA Action outlined its telehealth priorities for the 119th Congress.
The failure to include vital measures in last year’s funding bill has created a precarious gap that must be addressed immediately to safeguard access to care and ensure stability across the healthcare system.
“To ensure patients do not lose access to vital healthcare services and to provide stability for clinicians and healthcare systems that have integrated telehealth into their operations, it is imperative that these essential provisions, now in place for half a decade, continue to expand critically needed care to patients,” said Kyle Zebley, senior vice president, public policy, the ATA and executive director, ATA Action. “We are grateful for the unprecedented bipartisan, bicameral support for telehealth, across presidential administrations of both parties, and applaud our telehealth policy champions in Congress for their consistent support.”
As Congress begins to contemplate how to address these telehealth policies long-term, we call on both parties in the House and Senate to ensure access is maintained to virtual care services, including removing geographic and originating site restrictions, adding therapists to the Medicare practitioners, waiving the in-person requirement for telemental health services, allowing federally qualified health centers (FQHCs) and rural health clinics (RHCs) to continue offering telehealth services, continuing the Acute Hospital Care at Home Program, and extending the use of telehealth for face-to-face encounters prior to recertification of eligibility for hospice care.
In addition, ATA Action asks that Congress strongly consider reinstating the following telehealth policies that were left out of the final package passed at the end of the 118th Congress and expired on December 31, 2024:
- First Dollar Coverage of Telehealth in High Deductible Health Plans – Health Savings Accounts
- In-Home Cardiopulmonary Rehabilitation (CR) Services Flexibility
- Expanding the Medicare Diabetes Prevention Program (MDPP) Model
- Removing the In-Person Requirement for the Remote Prescribing of Controlled Substances
“We remain confident that incoming President Donald Trump, who championed and put in place these critical provisions five years ago, working alongside the new Congress, has a unique opportunity to deliver a fresh set of wins for the telehealth community and healthcare writ large by making these provisions permanent,” Zebley added. “Telehealth remains a popular and bipartisan issue that we just can’t allow to lapse. We look forward to working with Congress and the incoming Administration to maintain access to virtual care services, serving as a resource for all matters related to telehealth and virtual care as we move forward in the 119th Congress.”
Read the ATA Action letter to House and Senate leadership.
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.
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).
