OFFICIALS LEGISLATION INTEREST GROUPS PUBLIC STATEMENTS COMMITTEES VETOES

Increasing Access to Local Telehealth

Floor Speech

Date: July 21, 2020
Location: Washington, DC
Issues: Technology and Communication Health and Health Care

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Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania. Madam Speaker, I rise today to urge my colleagues to support the HEALTH Act. I am pleased to have introduced this bipartisan bill with the support of my cosponsor, Representative Butterfield from North Carolina.

The HEALTH Act is a bipartisan effort to help increase access to local telehealth. The bill will codify Medicare reimbursement for community health centers and rural health clinics for telehealth services, cutting red tape and ensuring that these vital services are available to patients on a more permanent basis.

As a lifetime resident of rural Pennsylvania, and having spent nearly three decades as a therapist and licensed nursing home administrator, I have been amazed at how telehealth services make life easier for rural and underserved communities, particularly for older Americans.

Now more than ever, access to telehealth services has become a necessity in America. Medicare recipients are in need of these services without barriers and restrictions, and the HEALTH Act will improve access for the underserved.

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