WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) joined 59 of his bipartisan colleagues, including Sens. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), Ben Cardin (D-Md.), John Thune (R-S.D.), Mark Warner (D-Va.) and Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.), in reintroducing the Creating Opportunities Now for Necessary and Effective Care Technologies (CONNECT) for Health Act. The bill expands Medicare coverage of telehealth services and makes permanent pandemic-era telehealth flexibilities.
“Iowans in rural parts of our state have consistently shared with me the challenges they face when trying to access medical care,” Grassley said. “During the pandemic, though, we witnessed the benefits of temporary telehealth policies for Americans across the country – especially in rural communities. Our bill appropriately updates laws that have been on the books for a long time: it removes barriers for patients and providers, embraces the growing availability of advanced technologies and empowers the capabilities of the medical community.”
The Fiscal Year 2023 spending package included select provisions from the CONNECT for Health Act, preserving enhanced telehealth protections through 2025. The upcoming expiration underscores the need to make these stopgap extensions permanent.
The CONNECT for Health Act of 2023 would:
This bill was first introduced in 2016 and is considered the most comprehensive legislation on telehealth in Congress. Since then, parts of it – like removing restrictions on mental telehealth services, stroke care and home dialysis – have become law or been adopted by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).
In 2020, Congress passed and President Trump signed into law three provisions from the CONNECT for Health Act. The result was a surge in telehealth use, as patients avoided traveling to hospitals and health clinics during the pandemic. As then-chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, Grassley helped make mental telehealth services a permanent benefit under Medicare.
The CONNECT for Health Act of 2023 has garnered support from over 150 organizations and more than 60 senators. Resources below:
Grassley’s Work to Strengthen Rural Health Care and Telehealth Access:
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