“Unfortunately, it took a global pandemic for us to realize the larger benefits of telehealth and really introduce telehealth into traditional Medicare,” House Energy and Commerce Committee Ranking Member Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., said…
“We’re looking at how to transition beyond that public health emergency, which I hope we will see come to an end early on in 2023, and with that a more permanent direction for telehealth,” McMorris Rodgers said.
“We want to delink the telehealth flexibilities from the COVID-19 public health emergency. We want to make sure that patients remain in control of their doctor visit decisions and that it’s the patient that is deciding whether or not to utilize telehealth services or if they prefer to see a provider in person,” McMorris Rodgers said. “We’re also having broader conversations about the guardrails on the program to make sure that we are cutting down on the potential waste, fraud and abuse, which we will see in any program, but we need to create a permanent structure around telehealth. Right now, we’re working more on a short term bridge policy, to give us some time to consider what those guardrails would be and where the maximum efficiencies will be.”…
