Congress faces a year-end deadline to extend pandemic-era relief provisions that allow expanded use of telemedicine by Medicare beneficiaries. If lawmakers don’t act, millions of seniors and privately insured patients could lose access to what has become an essential form of health care.
The expansion of telemedicine is a great example of how cutting out red tape can improve people’s lives. Congress should make these changes permanent and use that experience as a model to remove obstacles to further medical innovation.
During the pandemic, the federal government waived many of Medicare’s restrictions on telehealth services, allowing beneficiaries to receive care from eligible Medicare providers in their own homes and from any location. Many private insurance companies have followed Medicare’s example and expanded telemedicine coverage.
The aim was to allow patients to receive quality medical care while limiting their contact with others.
The policy change worked as intended. Before the pandemic, telehealth appointments accounted for less than 1% of all outpatient visits. This number rose to 13% between March and August 2020.
Minority and low-income patients had the highest rates of telehealth appointments during the pandemic, which is good news for these historically underserved populations.
The relaxation of Medicare restrictions has flipped a switch in public consciousness. Telemedicine also features an online “patient portal” to improve patient access to test results. A 15-minute doctor’s appointment no longer requires taking half a day off work and driving across town during the morning rush hour. For the first time, many patients can now contact their doctors via email. Even with a landline, patients may be able to access the care they need.
One survey found that in 2021, 23.1% of respondents reported using telehealth services at least once in the past four weeks.
To date, 90% of hospital and health system leaders report implementing telehealth programs. The majority of those who don’t have one yet expect to have one within the next year.
Telemedicine is clearly an idea whose time has come. For Americans with busy lifestyles, virtual appointments can improve health outcomes by making it easy to create, reducing travel, and increasing the likelihood that patients will book their next appointment. This benefit is especially significant for patients living in rural areas, which often suffer from a shortage of health care providers.
Telemedicine services can also significantly reduce treatment costs, according to an internal study by the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. The study found that Penn Medicine telehealth appointments are approximately 23% cheaper than in-person visits, saving patients an average of $113 per appointment.
Doctors and medical staff are also benefiting from telemedicine. Lower operating costs and increased efficiency allow physicians to focus on patient care. In a world where healthcare worker burnout is on the rise, telemedicine has the opposite effect.
Despite all these positives, it is difficult to understand why Congress has not made permanent access to telehealth a political priority.
Recently, a bipartisan group of lawmakers sent a letter It called on the Biden administration to “ensure that all Medicare beneficiaries have permanent access to telehealth services.” A separate bipartisan group of 60 senators introduced the bill. CONNECT for Health ActThis will expand access to telemedicine and make telemedicine practices a permanent option.
Just this month, the House Ways and Means Committee passed it Telemedicine, Hospital, and Ambulance Access Maintenance Act. This would extend current Medicare telehealth flexibility until the end of his 2026.
A two-year extension is good, but it would be even better to demonstrate that it is indeed possible to permanently ensure uninterrupted access to telehealth and reduce government regulations that stifle innovation. .
Sally C. Pipes is president and CEO of the Pacific Institute and a Thomas W. Smith Fellow in Health Care Policy. Her latest book is False Premises, False Promises: The Disastrous Reality of Medicare for All. Follow her on X (formerly Twitter) @sallypipes.
