Gardner, Upton support telehealth services for underserved populations

U.S. Sen. Cory Gardner (R-CO) and U.S. Rep. Fred Upton (R-MI) separately supported national efforts to ensure Medicare covers telehealth services related to COVID-19 for underserved Americans.

Sen. Gardner wrote a March 18 letter sent to U.S. Senate leadership requesting that upcoming legislation related to the novel coronavirus include language to allow Medicare to reimburse rural health clinics (RHCs) and federally qualified health centers (FQHCs) for telehealth services.

“RHCs and FQHCs play a critical role in providing health care services to vulnerable, underserved populations,” Sen. Gardner wrote. “Especially at this time when the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has released crucial social distancing guidance, we must ensure that our most vulnerable be able to access telehealth services without limiting restrictions.”

Sen. Gardner wrote that it’s important for Congress to quickly expand telehealth access to Americans who receive care through RHCs and FQHCs. “We cannot let red tape stand in the way of quality health care, and I request consideration of this authorization that will increase access to critical telehealth services,” he wrote.

Meanwhile, Rep. Upton commended the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) for encouraging states to cover all telemedicine services and to work with CMS to expand their capabilities to do so during the COVID-19 pandemic. CMS on March 17 issued guidance on a “Medicaid state plan fee-for-service payments for services delivered via telehealth,” according to Rep. Upton’s office.

“Ensuring all Americans, particularly low-income patients, have access to telemedicine services is absolutely critical in our efforts to contain this pandemic,” said Rep. Upton and U.S. Rep. Joe Kennedy (D-MA) in a joint statement released on March 19.

“To protect the health and safety of all citizens from Massachusetts to Michigan and every corner of this nation, we need to utilize every tool at our disposal,” the members wrote. “Together, we will continue to fight to leverage modern medical technology to guarantee none of the 71 million Americans covered by Medicaid and CHIP are denied telehealth care.”