Access to telehealth services would be expanded under bipartisan Gardner bill

In an effort to expand health care access in rural and urban areas, U.S. Sen. Cory Gardner (R-CO) has outlined a path for Medicare to cover more telehealth services.

The Telehealth Innovation and Improvement Act would require the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to permit eligible hospitals to test telehealth services through the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMI).

Medicare currently covers limited telehealth services, restricting access to specialized services and discouraging innovation, Gardner said.

“All Coloradans deserve access to health care services regardless of whether they live in rural or urban areas,” Gardner said. “The Telehealth Innovation and Improvement Act would allow Medicare to expand coverage of telehealth services and increase access for people living in rural America. It would also incentivize the health care industry to develop new technologies that could potentially reduce costs and improve patient health.”

The federal Health Resources and Services Administration defines telehealth as the use of technologies to support long-distance clinical health care, patient and professional health-related education, public health and health administration.

The legislation would direct CMI to commission an independent evaluation of telehealth models to assess cost, effectiveness and improvement in quality of care without increasing cost of delivery.

U.S. Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI), who introduced the measure with Gardner, said Michigan seniors and families in underserved communities are using telehealth technology to receive specialized and quality health care.

“This bipartisan, common sense legislation has the potential to help expand access to care for Michigan seniors, lower health care costs and reduce costly emergency room visits, hospitalizations and readmissions,” Peters said.