Federal Activity

The ATA sent a letter to Secretary Becerra urging the Administration to indicate the expected duration of the COVID-19 public health emergency and recommends the PHE and its flexibilities continue at least through the end of the calendar year 2022.

The ATA, AOTA, APTA, and the ASHA have created a document outlining their shared priorities that are multi-pronged and include legislative, regulatory, and state-based advocacy efforts. These organizations are working with policymakers to support legislation that will promote access to care, mitigate risks associated with COVID-19, and ensure sustainability of telehealth services beyond the pandemic.

On September 1, 2021 the American Telemedicine Association (ATA) submitted detailed comments to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid on the CY 2022 Physician Fee Schedule proposed rule. The ATA’s comments largely focus on a few key issues, including access to telemental health services, extension of Category 3 services, remote physiologic monitoring, remote therapeutic monitoring, and additional topics.

The ATA urges Congress to make permanent the telehealth flexibilities implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic by passing critical legislation outlined throughout this statement to ensure Medicare beneficiaries have continued access to all telehealth services, including ocular, after the Public Health Emergency (PHE).

The ATA along with 430 organizations sent a letter to Congress outlining our priorities for permanent telehealth reform post COVID-19.

This document provides an overview of clinically unnecessary in-person requirements, urging Congress to not consider them to ensure patients have adequate access to telehealth.

The ATA submitted testimony for the Senate Finance Committee hearing entitled COVID-19 Health Care Flexibilities: Perspective, Experiences, and Lessons Learned on May 19, 2021.

The ATA sent a letter to Secretary Xavier Becerra and Acting Administrator Liz Richter commenting on Remote Physiological Monitoring (RPM) access in advance of the CY2022 Physician Fee Schedule.

The ATA submitted a written testimony to the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Health for their hearing on Charting a Path Forward for Telehealth on April 28th.

The ATA and 16 other organizations signed a letter urging CMS to use its emergency authority to expand access to virtual diabetes prevention programs in the Medicare program.

This document provides an overview of section 3701 of the CARES Act, which created a temporary safe harbor that allows HDHPs with a health savings account (HSA) to cover telehealth and remote care services. Further, the document outlines the importance of Congress permanently extending the HDHP & HSA telehealth safe harbor.

The ATA sent an overview to Congressional staffers on program integrity which describes the advantages of telehealth, how “telefraud” is not telehealth, and the characteristics of legitimate telehealth providers.

The ATA sent a letter to Congress urging them to include permanent telehealth reforms and a number of targeted telehealth provisions in any subsequent COVID-19 relief legislation to ensure Americans do not lose access to care.

The ATA sent a letter to MedPAC in response to our meeting in December 2020 to provide additional information to help inform MedPAC’s policy recommendations to Congress.

This chart tracked critical Federal telehealth legislation and outlined ATA’s Federal priorities at the end of the 116th Congress.

The ATA responds to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Request for Information (RFI) on Regulatory Relief to Support Economic Recovery.

The ATA responds to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Request for Information (RFI) on Leveraging Novel Technologies for Chronic Disease Management for Aging Underserved Populations.

The ATA wrote to President-Election Biden and his transition team to share the ATA’s core policy principles and to offer the ATA as a resource as they begin to consider telehealth policies.

The ATA helped to lead a letter urging leaders of Congress to include telehealth in the end of the year package and strongly support, in absence of permanent reform, an extension of the temporary telehealth flexibilities until the end of 2021.

In a November 2 letter American Telemedicine Association (ATA) CEO Ann Mond Johnson submitted comments to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) on how the agency can use its regulatory authority to expand access to and directly cover digital health technologies that are not traditionally covered by Medicare.

In a September 24 letter American Telemedicine Association (ATA) CEO Ann Mond Johnson submitted comments to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) on the CY 2021 Physician Fee Schedule proposed rule strongly supporting increased access to telehealth services in the Medicare program, including for underserved populations.

The ATA published a chart outlining the telehealth flexibilities during COVID-19 and the ATA’s recommendations for permanent telehealth policy.

The ATA helped lead a letter thanking congressional House Telehealth Caucus members for their continued leadership. The letter, dated August 3, 2020, noted the broad telehealth industry support for recently introduced legislation, the Protecting Access to Post-COVID-19 Telehealth Act of 2020 (HR 7663).

ATA submitted recommendations to Congress on measures to facilitate the use of telehealth and expand the use of virtual care by health care providers during the COVID-19 public health emergency.

As follow up to the ATA’s March 13 recommendations, the ATA provided HHS and CMS with recommendations on additional actions that would further support health care providers seeking to provide telehealth services in response to the COVID-19 outbreak.

ATA submitted recommendations to Congress on measures to facilitate the use of telehealth and expand the use of virtual care by health care providers during the COVID-19 public health emergency.

ATA submitted recommendations to the Administration on actions that can immediately be taken to facilitate the use of telehealth and expand the use of virtual care by health care providers during the COVID-19 public health emergency.

ATA, along with a number of health care stakeholders, submitted a follow up letter urging Congress to address barriers that were built into the telehealth waiver provision of the Coronavirus Supplemental Appropriation that are preventing health care providers from fully leveraging and scaling critical telehealth services needed to combat COVID-19.

ATA CEO Ann Mond Johnson submitted a letter to the Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services urging them to leverage the telehealth waiver authority provided under H.R.6074, the Coronavirus Preparedness and Response Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2020. This waiver removes telehealth geographic site restrictions for Medicare beneficiaries, providing critical access to care for patients affected by COVID-19.

ATA, along with a number of health care stakeholders, submitted a letter urging Congress to expand access to telehealth services in the COVID-19 supplemental appropriation and provide the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) with the authority to waive existing Medicare restrictions on telehealth visits during a public health emergency.

The ATA shared feedback with leaders in Congress as work begins on a framework for a “Cures 2.0” legislative package that would build and expand on reforms included in the 21st Century Cures Act, passed in December 2016.

ATA, along with a number of healthcare stakeholders, submitted a letter with comments on the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) implementation of a Special Registration provision for telemedicine under the Ryan Haight Act.

ATA commends the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation for seeking input on how to ensure legitimate access to controlled substances while also preventing diversion and abuse. This issue is very important to our members and we appreciate being able to provide feedback and recommendations.

The ATA submitted recommendations to Congress for comprehensive telehealth reform and urged Congressional leaders to address barriers to telehealth in Medicare.

In response to the mandate from H.R. 6, the ATA convened a special member workgroup within its Telebehavioral Health Special Interest Group. The workgroup developed five recommendations for how a special registration process could be structured to enable the safe prescribing of certain controlled substances via telehealth.

The ATA supports legislative efforts to expand access to telehealth services, which we believe will improve patient outcomes, patients and provider satisfaction, and lower costs to the healthcare system. The RUSH Act, introduced in the 115th Congress, represents one such effort by expanding access to emergency telehealth for Medicare patients in nursing homes with the goal of reducing unnecessary emergency room visits and hospitalizations.