The Clock Is Ticking for Congress to Extend Medicare Telehealth Waivers

The temporary waivers allowing PTs, PTAs, and other health care providers to offer telehealth services to Medicare beneficiaries since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic will expire Sept. 30 unless Congress acts.

Thanks in part to advocacy by APTA members, Congress has extended the Medicare telehealth waivers every time they have approached expiration since their implementation. While there is broad bipartisan support for extending the current telehealth waivers, the question is whether Congress will be able to act by the Sept. 30 deadline, which is also the deadline for Congress to fund the federal government or risk another government shutdown.

As part of its ongoing telehealth advocacy, APTA joined over 350 health care providers and patient organizations in an August letter urging Congress to extend current telehealth waivers as long as possible until a permanent policy is enacted.

"Telehealth services have proven to be an effective option for certain patients, especially those in rural and underserved communities," says APTA Congressional Affairs Specialist Steve Kline. "Telehealth offers options for access when traveling long distances can be a major barrier to continuity of care. APTA urges Congress to act swiftly and make this telehealth policy permanent."

While the immediate issue at hand is extending the current telehealth waivers beyond Sept. 30, APTA continues to support legislation to enact a permanent policy. Earlier this year, APTA-supported legislation, H.R. 1614, was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives. This bipartisan legislation would ensure that PTs and PTAs are authorized to be permanent providers of telehealth in Medicare.

You can urge your members of Congress to support continued Medicare coverage of telehealth by visiting the APTA's Legislative Action Center today.