King, Colleagues Call on FCC to Prioritize Telehealth Programs for Rural Areas

Press Release

U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine), co-chair of the Senate Broadband Caucus, joined a bipartisan group of his colleagues to call on the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to ensure small rural providers receive their fair share of the COVID-19 Telehealth Program funding authorized in the recent year-end relief package. In the letter, King and his colleagues highlighted the benefits of telehealth during this pandemic, and emphasized the need to ensure that rural Americans have equal access to this vital resource. In addition to Senator King, the letter was also signed by Senators Joe Manchin (D-W. Va.), Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.), and Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.)

The Senators said in part, "All across the country our healthcare providers, first responders, and Americans of all walks of life have adjusted to a new way of receiving and giving care due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Over the past few months, we have seen that telemedicine can provide a lifeline to essential health care services through specialized connected care that was previously only available in person… It is critical that all areas across the United States have access to telehealth and telemedicine during this difficult time. In order to ensure that funding reaches the areas across our country that need help the most, and need it now, we call on the FCC to target funds to small providers in rural areas."

Since the pandemic struck, Senator King has pushed to improve telehealth services so more Americans can access care -- and, given the widespread success, he's worked to make these expansions permanent. In July, Senator King introduced the COVID--19 Emergency Telehealth Impact Reporting Act of 2020, requiring the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to assess key healthcare data, including utilization rates and hospital readmission rates, for patients who received their healthcare through expanded telehealth programs during the pandemic -- in a push to make telehealth expansions permanent. Senator King also introduced the Mental and Behavioral Health Connectivity Act, legislation to allow Medicare beneficiaries to continue to access mental and behavior health services through telehealth in the near term and after the coronavirus pandemic subsides.

As a Congressional leader in applying this technology for all Americans, Senator King convened a nationally-televised town hall with the Bipartisan Policy Center talking through the new possibilities for rural Americans due to telehealth. Senator King has introduced the Improving Telehealth for Underserved Communities Act, legislation to protect patients receiving care through telehealth services by shielding certain rural health clinics (RHCs) and Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) in underserved communities from impending Medicare payments that could hinder their ability to care and treat patients. He has also urged the FCC to expand access to telehealth services in rural communities, and joined a bipartisan group of Senators calling for telehealth expansions included in coronavirus relief legislation to be made permanent.

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