Sen. Warner Introduces Bipartisan Bill to Expand Telehealth Services

Statement

Today, U.S. Senator Mark Warner (D-VA) joined Sens. Brian Schatz (D-HI), Roger Wicker (R-MS), Thad Cochran (R-MS), Ben Cardin (D-MD), and John Thune (R-SD) in introducing the Creating Opportunities Now for Necessary and Effective Care Technologies (CONNECT) for Health Act of 2017, bipartisan legislation that would expand telehealth services in Medicare, improve care outcomes, make it easier for patients to connect with their health care providers, and help cut costs for patients and providers.

"Virginia is a telehealth leader, and since my time as Governor, I have been working to harness innovation to improve patient care," said Senator Mark Warner. "As Congress works to improve the quality of care provided to chronically ill Medicare beneficiaries, the bipartisan CONNECT for Health Act is an exciting opportunity to build on both Virginia's successful efforts, and the proven effectiveness of telehealth in the private sector, to expand the use of technology in Medicare and bring the program into the 21st century."

Telehealth is the provision of health care services via telecommunications technologies, such as live video interactions and asynchronous medical data transfers (store-and-forward technologies). Remote patient monitoring refers to personal medical data transmitted securely from an individual in one location via electronic communications technologies to a provider in a different location for the purposes of medical care.

In 2003, then-Gov. Warner expanded Medicaid coverage for telemedicine statewide, including evaluation and management visits, a range of individual psychotherapies, the full range of consultations, and some clinical services, including in cardiology and obstetrics. Coverage was also expanded to include non-physician providers. Among other benefits, the telehealth expansion allowed individuals in medically underserved and remote areas of Virginia to access quality specialty care that isn't always available at home.

"The University of Virginia Health System and our Center for Telehealth are thrilled to work with Senator Warner to reduce barriers to the adoption of telehealth and remote patient monitoring that further improve access to timely, high quality care for our Medicare beneficiaries. The Connect for Health Act of 2017 promises to modernize telehealth services within our Medicare program and align 21st century healthcare policies with 21st century innovations in telehealth to improve health outcomes and create greater patient engagement," said Dr. Karen Rheuban, Director of the UVA Center for Telehealth.

According to studies, telehealth and remote patient monitoring have been shown to improve care and patient satisfaction while reducing costs. The CONNECT for Health Act is a bipartisan approach to increase the use of telehealth and remote patient monitoring in Medicare.