Bill would expand access to telehealth services in Medicare

Members of the House and Senate Telehealth Caucus today introduced the CONNECT for Health Act, AHA-supported legislation that would expand access to telehealth for Medicare patients and remove barriers to its adoption and use by hospitals and other providers. 鈥淐urrently, 76% of U.S. hospitals connect with patients and consulting practitioners at a distance through the use of live voice and video and other supporting technologies,鈥 AHA said in a letter to members of Congress. 鈥淵et, systemic barriers to widespread adoption of telehealth in the Medicare program remain. We applaud the introduction of this bill, which proposes many changes that would allow for increased access to telehealth services for patients and remove barriers to adoption and use by hospitals and other providers.鈥