Dive Brief:
- A group of bipartisan senators on Wednesday reintroduced a bill that aims to remove barriers to telemental healthcare for Medicare beneficiaries.
- The legislation, introduced by Sens. Bill Cassidy, R-La., Tina Smith, D-Minn., John Thune, R-S.D., and Ben Cardin, D-Md., would remove requirements that telemental health patients see an in-person provider within six months of receiving services via telehealth.
- The senators warned the “arbitrary” requirement that patients be seen in person will limit access to needed care, particularly in rural areas.
Dive Insight:
The Telemental Health Care Access Act comes as a number of Medicare telehealth flexibilities that first went into effect during the COVID-19 pandemic are set to expire at the end of the year without congressional action.
Lawmakers have previously shown bipartisan support for making some of these changes permanent, arguing they improve access to care, particularly in rural areas where travel times to healthcare facilities can be long.
“Especially for Minnesotans in small towns and rural places suffering from mental health challenges, long commutes to the nearest provider can mean virtual care is the only feasible option,” Smith said in a statement. “This bill is an important step in making it easier for mental health patients on Medicare to ask for help and get the care they need, without having to jump through administrative hoops.”
Legislators and witnesses at a Senate subcommittee hearing in November warned Congress should act quickly to address the temporary accommodations, as regulatory uncertainty could push providers away from virtual care.
Telehealth use soared during the COVID-19 pandemic as regulators implemented these flexibilities and providers quickly pivoted to virtual care to accommodate social distancing. Though utilization has fallen since its peak, telehealth is still more common than it was pre-pandemic.
Mental healthcare is a popular use case for telehealth, and an area where access challenges have long stymied who can receive treatment. In October, more than 67% of diagnoses from telehealth claim lines were for mental health conditions, according to FAIR Health.
