On May 9, 2024, the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee advanced legislation to extend pandemic-era telehealth flexibilities through 2026. The bill, referred to as the Preserving Telehealth, Hospital, and Ambulance Access Act, would extend the ability of Medicare beneficiaries to access care via telehealth through December 31, 2026, among other things.
During the pandemic, the federal government had taken steps to expand the ability of healthcare providers to offer medical care via telehealth to ensure patients could continue to access care. When the public health emergency expired, many of those telehealth flexibilities were set to expire as well. While some were made permanent, many were temporarily extended through 2024 while Congress and CMS continued to evaluate the future of telehealth services.
The recently advanced legislation would further extend a number of flexibilities, including the removal of geographic restrictions, expanding the list of providers that can offer virtual services, and the continued allowance of certain audio-only telehealth care. The bill would also extend the Medicare acute hospital at home program for an additional five years.
Following the Committee’s advancement of the bill, the legislation will now proceed to the floor of the House for further debate and consideration. While this development suggests that a move to make these telehealth flexibilities permanent may be off the table for the time being, the continued extensions further engrain these modes of delivering healthcare in the minds of Medicare beneficiaries and are likely to only bolster the desire of many to eventually make the expansion of telehealth permanent.