125 Orgs Ask Congress to Restore Telehealth Flexibility for HDHP Members
The organizations are urging congress to reinstate the flexibility, which enables pre-deductible telehealth coverage for those with high-deductible health plans and Health Savings Accounts.
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By Anuja Vaidya
- More than 125 organizations are urging Congress to reinstate a provision that allows employers and health plans to provide pre-deductible coverage for telehealth services for those with high-deductible health plans coupled with Health Savings Accounts (HDHP-HSAs).
The organizations sent the letter to Congressional leaders last week urging them to restore the telehealth safe harbor flexibility enacted in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.
The flexibility expired Dec. 31, but in light of the Omicron variant surge across the country, the organizations believe it needs to be reinstated. The letter was convened by the Alliance for Connected Care and includes a mix of signers including the American Telemedicine Association, America's Health Insurance Plans, AMGA, LifePoint Health, CVS Health, and Teladoc Health.
Americans with HDHP-HSAs must meet minimum deductibles before telehealth costs can be covered by their employer or health plan. The flexibility allowed employers and health plans to provide coverage for telehealth services without forcing individuals to meet the deductible.
"The ability to offer pre-deductible telehealth services for employees is a meaningful expansion of health care access for 32 million Americans," the letter states.
The letter also notes that about 96 percent of employers adopted pre-deductible coverage for telehealth services as a result of the telehealth safe harbor provision, according to a 2021 survey conducted by the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI).
"This was the first pandemic-era telehealth policy to expire, which has and will continue to impact access to needed virtual care services for millions of Americans if Congress does not act to reinstate this provision," said Krista Drobac, executive director of Alliance for Connected Care, in the accompanying news release.
There are already bills in front of the U.S. Senate and House that would extend the pre-deductible telehealth flexibility for those with HDHP-HSAs, including the Telehealth Expansion Act of 2021, which would permanently extend the CARES Act authority for employers and health plans to offer this coverage, and the Primary and Virtual Care Affordability Act, which would extend the CARES Act authority through Dec. 31, 2023.
"The undersigned organizations strongly urge you to retroactively reinstate this vital telehealth provision from the CARES Act via the next possible legislative vehicle," the letter states. "This is especially important given plan year 2022 has already begun and millions of individuals have already selected this form of coverage."
Healthcare organizations are increasingly putting pressure on Congress to extend telehealth flexibilities enacted during the COVID-19 pandemic. The American Telemedicine Association launched a new trade organization last week — with support from HCA Healthcare, Intermountain Healthcare and Walmart, among others — to lobby for permanent access to telehealth.
This launch came about a month after the American Hospital Association and 15 other healthcare organizations launched a campaign aiming to preserve telehealth access after the public health emergency has ended.
As the pressure from healthcare organizations intensifies, there are several bills winding their way through Congress that appear to have bipartisan support.
