Courtney Votes to Extend COVID-19 Health Care Support for Eastern CT Workers and Families | Congressman Joe Courtney
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Courtney Votes to Extend COVID-19 Health Care Support for Eastern CT Workers and Families

July 27, 2022

WASHINGTON, DC — Today, Congressman Joe Courtney (CT-02) voted to pass the Advancing Telehealth Beyond COVID-19 Act (H.R. 4040). The bill was introduced on a bipartisan basis by Congresswoman Liz Cheney (R-WY-At Large), and would ensure that access to telehealth services, including audio-only services, will continue to be in place for all Medicare patients regardless of where they live, even after the public health emergency (PHE) officially ends. The legislation builds on the bipartisan extension of Medicare telehealth services that was included in the House's FY 2022 budget, which Rep. Courtney voted to pass in March of this year.

The Advancing Telehealth Beyond COVID-19 Act was passed in the House today with support from both sides of the aisle, by a vote of 416-12. The House bill will now await a vote by the Senate.

"Access to telehealth services was greatly expanded during COVID, and that proved to be a major benefit for lots of seniors on Medicare, and for so many families in our smaller towns and rural communities—especially at a time when we saw the demand for mental health care skyrocket," said Congressman Courtney. "We worked hard at the outset of the pandemic to ramp up Connecticut's network of telehealth services, and it makes no sense to do away with that expanded access and flexibility now. Costs are coming down but they remain too high in several sectors, lots of people in our region are seeking and starting great new careers, and at the same time we're still seeing rising demand for mental health and addiction intervention while also working to keep our communities healthy amid an ongoing public health emergency—this is no time to tighten restrictions on how people can access their care. People want to focus on building their futures and supporting their families, and the bill we passed today would extend the important telehealth services that have really helped get us to a place where we can do that. This bill was bipartisan from start to finish, and I thank my colleague, Rep. Liz Cheney from Wyoming, for introducing it. The Senate should waste no time in voting on this bill so that it can be signed into law."

H.R. 4040 would extend Medicare's expanded coverage of telehealth services through December 31, 2024, or through the end of the PHE, whichever is later. More specifically, the bill would continue key telehealth flexibilities that:

  • Allow Medicare beneficiaries to receive telehealth services from any location, including their homes;
  • Expand Medicare coverage of telehealth services for all beneficiaries, instead of only those in rural areas;
  • Allow for more types of providers, such as Federally Qualified Health Centers and Rural Health Clinics, to provide telehealth under Medicare;
  • Allow Medicare beneficiaries to receive audio-only services, instead of only telehealth services with an audio and visual component;
  • Delays the in-person requirements for mental health services to be provided through telehealth; and
  • Allows hospice providers to conduct face-to-face requirements via telehealth.

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Issues:Health Care