Congress passes landmark telehealth law; extends flexibilities authorized during PHE 

Posted on:7/29/22

On Wednesday, the U.S. Congress passed the “Advancing Telehealth Beyond COVID-19 Act of 2021,” HB 4040, on a bipartisan vote of 416 to 12. This bill makes permanent, after the public health emergency ends, several telehealth flexibilities under Medicare that were initially authorized during the public health emergency (PHE) relating to COVID-19. Specifically, the HB 4040 permanently allows (1) federally qualified health centers and rural health clinics to serve as the distant site (i.e., the location of the health care practitioner); (2) beneficiaries to receive telehealth services at any site, regardless of type or location including the patient’s home; (3) any type of practitioner to furnish telehealth services, subject to approval by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services; and (4) audio-only evaluation and management and behavioral health services.

Many of us working in the telehealth space have been advocating for at least seven years the policies contained in this legislation around site neutrality and origination from a patient’s home. OHA will be reaching out to Oklahoma U.S. senators to support HB 4040 and we urge you to contact them also. It’s more likely that the Senate will pass their own package rather than HB 4040, so it is very relevant that our two senators hear from us on the importance of telehealth.

Read HB 4040 here. (Sandra Harrison)