WICKER, HYDE-SMITH & SCHATZ LEAD EFFORT TO EXPAND TELEHEALTH ACCESS, PERMANENTLY SECURE FLEXIBILITIES
Bipartisan Group of Senators Renews Push to Enact Most Extensive Telehealth Legislation in Congress
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.), and Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) on Wednesday led 60 of their colleagues in a bipartisan effort to reintroduce the Creating Opportunities Now for Necessary and Effective Care Technologies (CONNECT) for Health Act.
The CONNECT for Health Act (S.1261) would expand telehealth services under Medicare, make COVID-19-related telehealth flexibilities permanent, improve health outcomes, and make it easier for patients to connect with their health care providers. In 2024, more than half of American patients utilized telehealth services, highlighting the importance of expanded access to this form of care.
“We live in a digital world, and our health services should reflect that. In the past decade, telehealth has made medical care more accessible for patients across the state and country,” Senator Wicker said. “It is time to make telehealth coverage permanent for Medicare recipients so that more Americans, especially those in rural Mississippi, have access to health care.”
“Even before the pandemic, Mississippi recognized the vital role of telehealth. Across America, rural communities, the elderly, and those with mobility challenges have long struggled to access traditional healthcare,” Senator Hyde-Smith said. “This legislation is essential to delivering affordable, accessible, and quality care that Americans deserve, and I’m proud to continue this years-long effort to expand telehealth services.”
“While telehealth use has rapidly increased in recent years, our laws have not kept up,” said Senator Schatz. “Telehealth is helping people get the care they need, and it’s here to stay. Our comprehensive bill makes it easier for more people to see their doctors no matter where they live.”
Wicker, Hyde-Smith, and Schatz are once again leading the effort, with additional support from the Telehealth Working Group, which includes cosponsors U.S. Senators John Barrasso, M.D. (R-Wyo.), Mark Warner (D-Va.), and Peter Welch (D-Vt.).
S.1261 is also cosponsored by U.S. Senators Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), John Thune (R-S.D.), Tina Smith (R-Minn.), James Lankford (R-Okla.), Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.), John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.), Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), John Fetterman (D-Pa.), Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Katie Britt (R-Ala.), Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), Ben Ray Lujan (D-N.M.), Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-La.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Angus King (I-Maine), Jim Justice (R-W.Va.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), John Hoeven (R-N.D.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Roger Marshall, M.D. (R-Kan.), Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Todd Young (R-Ind.), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Susan Collins (R-Maine), Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Pete Ricketts (R-N.E.), Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Chris Van Hollen (D-M.D.), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), and John Boozman (R-Ark.).
First introduced in 2016, the CONNECT for Health Act remains the most comprehensive telehealth legislation in Congress. Several provisions of the bill have since been enacted into law or adopted by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), particularly in response to the COVID pandemic. These include provisions to remove restrictions on telehealth services for mental health, stroke care, and home dialysis.
The 119th Congress version of the CONNECT for Health Act would build on this progress, including new and revised provisions designed to expand access to telehealth. Specifically, the legislation would:
- Permanently define originating sites as the location of the patient
- Permanently allow health centers and rural health clinics to provide telehealth services
- Expand eligibility for health care professionals to use telehealth services
- Remove unnecessary in-person visit requirements for telemental health services
- Allow for the waiver of telehealth restrictions during public health emergencies
- Require more published data to understand how telehealth is being used, its impact on quality of care, and how it can be improved to support patients and healthcare providers
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