House Passes Bill Extending Telehealth Flexibilities to End of 2024
The passing of HR 4040 by the US House of Representatives has resulted in a two-year extension of telehealth flexibilities enacted during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Source: Getty Images
By - Following the House passage of the Advancing Telehealth Beyond COVID-19 Act of 2021 (HR 4040), pandemic-era telehealth flexibilities will be extended through 2024.
At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, in-person healthcare restrictions led to widespread access barriers. In March 2020, Congress enacted legislation that expanded telehealth access for Medicare beneficiaries, leading to a rapid uptake of the virtual care modality that changed perspectives on care delivery.
In March, the omnibus spending bill, which included several provisions to extend telehealth flexibilities, became law. But it only extended the flexibilities for five months after the public health emergency officially expired.
Congresswoman Liz Cheney (R-WY) and Congresswoman Debbie Dingell (D-MI) composed HR 4040 to ensure these flexibilities remain in place for an additional two years, allowing patients and providers to sustain the use of remote care through Dec. 31, 2024.
Specifically, the bill seeks to continue flexibilities that increased the number of geographic locations from where Medicare beneficiaries can receive telehealth services; increased the number of virtual care services that can be offered by physician assistants, nurse practitioners, clinical nurse specialists, and others; extended Medicare reimbursement for telehealth services provided by federally qualified health centers and rural health centers; and allowed virtual mental health services for up to six months without an in-person visit.
It also aims to extend flexibilities related to the coverage of audio-only telehealth.
"Because many of our citizens in Wyoming live hours and hundreds of miles away from their closest medical provider, we have long known how important it is for citizens to be able to take advantage of telehealth services in order to interact with their doctors and health care providers," said Cheney in the press release. “I’m pleased to have worked with Rep. Dingell and other colleagues on both sides of the aisle in advancing this legislation through the House and look forward to the Senate passing this bill as well so it can become law and allow more Americans to utilize telehealth services,”
After a 416-12 vote, the House passed HR 4040. It has been sent to the US Senate.
“This legislation brings us one step closer to permanently expanding telehealth services and allowing Americans to continue to access critical health care from the comfort of their home,” said Dingell in the press release.
Several healthcare stakeholders, including the American Telemedicine Association (ATA) and American Medical Association, applauded the bill's passage.
“Today, we took a significant step forward in providing much needed stability in access to care for millions of Americans, with the U.S. House vote to extend key telehealth flexibilities implemented during the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency (PHE) until the end of 2024. We cannot allow patients to lose access to telehealth post-pandemic, and this bill will provide stability through 2024, while giving Congress time to address how to make the policies permanent,” said Kyle Zebley, vice president of public policy for the American Telemedicine Association (ATA) and executive director of ATA Action, in an emailed statement.
The ongoing evolution of the COVID-19 pandemic has led to many efforts to extend telehealth-related regulatory flexibilities.
In June, two bills were introduced in the House and Senate to expand accessible options for virtual healthcare, particularly for some Medicare beneficiaries and rural residents.
Another bill introduced in the House earlier this year sought to enable employers to offer standalone telehealth programs — like dental and vision plans — in addition to traditional medical health plans.
