Dive Brief:
- The American Telemedicine Association (ATA) is urging the House Committee on Energy and Commerce to update the Rural Health Care Connectivity Act (H.R. 4111) to include universal support for additional rural health providers, such as Medicaid and Medicare telehealth providers, school-based clinics, and emergency transporters.
- This is the first effort in 20 years to update the definition of rural health provider, ATA CEO John Linkous wrote in his letter to the Committee.
- The letter also stated the group supports the update that opens universal service to skilled nursing facilities.
Dive Insight:
With more rural hospitals closing, telehealth has become more crucial in providing healthcare to those communities. As previously reported by Healthcare Dive, more than 60 rural communities have had their hospitals shut down since 2010.
A report by iVantage estimates another 673 rural hospitals across 42 states are at risk for closure.
Another recent bill, The Creating Opportunities Now for Necessary and Effective Care Technologies (CONNECT) for Health Act, would eliminate Medicare barriers to telehealth use to potentially save $1.8 billion over 10 years, as reported by Healthcare Dive.
Physicians and hospitals participating in alternate payment models (APMs) could use remote patient monitoring for patients with chronic conditions.
The act would also expand telehealth and remote patient monitoring in rural health clinics and community health centers.
