Ten Things About ACP that Ted Cruz Cares About #6 ACP and Telemedicine

The record shows that Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) recipients regard using access to broadband as critical to their healthcare. A recent study found that 75% of ACP participants fear that losing access to ACP will result in losing access to healthcare. This is consistent with another large-scale survey found that 45% of adults believe that inadequate access to technology, including broadband and computers, is a barrier to telehealth, and this was especially prominent among rural residents and adults over the age of 65. That is, ACP recipients and the public generally understand that today broadband access is critical to obtaining healthcare services. Second, there are numerous media reports of ACP recipients using and depending on internet access for healthcare. While I am aware that anecdotes are not the same as data, there should not be any doubt as to the impact of ACP on the use of telehealth. Third, there is evidence that when lower income persons have broadband access, they tend to use it for healthcare more than the general population. Fourth, while I agree with the comment that “Telemedicine may be a great benefit to Americans, but the studies cited indicate that it would have been a great benefit without ACP,” we should not be blind to the fact that the United States government, through Medicare, Medicaid, and the Veterans Administration, is the largest provider of health insurance in the country.  If the general public and private insurers benefit from telehealth, then the government, as a provider of health insurance, would benefit as well, particularly given the overlap of those depending on ACP and those depending on Medicaid and Veterans Administration services. Fifth, the question implies that ACP recipients might regard the value of telehealth differently than other broadband subscribers.  There is no evidence that this is true. Sixth, not only do we need ACP for telehealth, but we should also be looking for ways in which we can use telehealth for all Americans to improve outcomes and reduce costs.