Healthcare Facilities

Sens Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Steve Daines (R-MT), Tina Smith (D-MN), and Jerry Moran (R-KS) introduced the bipartisan Expanded Telehealth Access Act. During COVID-19, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) expanded access to telehealth services to a range of health care providers, and this legislation would permanently expand that eligibility.

To address the enduring nature of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Federal Communications Commission clarifies that for the second round of the COVID-19 Telehealth Program, applicants will receive points on their applications for being located in a hotspot or a sustained hotspot based on the relevant dataset as of either (1) May 6, 2021, the date when the application filing window closed, or (2) November 19, 2021, the date when the ten-day resubmission period closes.

Congress took a significant step toward solving the digital divide when it created the Emergency Connectivity Fund in the spring of 2021, appropriating over $7 billion for schools and libraries to connect learners to broadband off campus. Interviews with nearly a dozen Emergency Connectivity Fund applicants reveal that, while there is room for improvement, the program as a whole seems to be working. The FCC has approved applications both large and small in almost every state in the country.

The Federal Communications Commission announced its third set of approved Connected Care Pilot Program projects. These 36 projects were approved for a total of $15,337,689 in funding.

Telemedicine startups are confronting a hodgepodge of state regulations, complicating their efforts to expand their services nationwide. Companies that provide care over the web or through mobile devices scaled up rapidly during the pandemic, as overcrowding at hospitals led to more patients meeting doctors virtually. Aiding startups’ growth were temporary waivers of restrictions on telemedicine that many states enacted, including a requirement that doctors be licensed in their state to provide virtual care.

The Federal Communications Commission approved an additional 71 applications for funding commitments totaling $40,468,845 for Round 2 of its COVID-19 Telehealth Program. This is the FCC’s third funding announcement of approved Round 2 applications bringing the total to approximately $123.6 million awarded to health care providers in each state, territory, and the District of Columbia.

Reps Greg Pence (R-IN) and Angie Craig (D-MN) introduced the Rural Telehealth Access Task Force Act (H.R.5506) to expand rural communities’ access to telehealth capabilities. The proposed legislation seeks to establish a Rural Telehealth Access Task Force between the Federal Communications Commission, United States Department of Agriculture, Department of Health and Human Service, National Telecommunications and Information Administration, and the United States Department of Veterans Affairs.

Telehealth can't succeed without expanding access to affordable broadband internet, witnesses told the Senate Commerce Committee on Oct 7. But extending the regulatory flexibilities around this access granted under the public health emergency, which are slated to expire when the COVID-19 pandemic subsides, is also critical, they said, stressing that the benefits of telemedicine can't be understated.

The COVID-19 pandemic has contributed to the skyrocketing adoption of information technologies, especially in the health care system. The digital transformation of the health care industry is not merely restricted to increased use of telemedicine and telehealth, but also the creation of new care-delivery systems unexpectedly driven by agents external to the health care system, including new medical technology startups and retail companies.

COVID-19 pandemic fatigue has many people seeking a return to normalcy. But healthcare needs a new normal—one that achieves better health outcomes for more people. One avenue to better health results is expanding use of tools like telehealth and, more broadly, digital health, provided that their adoption focuses on improving health outcomes rather than simply enabling more appointments.