House committee passes telehealth flexibility extension

A House committee voted Sept. 18 to advance a bill that would extend telehealth flexibilities in Medicare for another two years.  

The legislation, called the Telehealth Modernization Act of 2024, passed unanimously in the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, sending the bill to the House floor to await consideration. 

The bill would avert a year-end expiration of the pandemic-era flexibilities. Telehealth advocates say time is running out to extend the pandemic changes, potentially disrupting access for patients who have come to rely on virtual care. 

The committee showed bipartisan support for extending the flexibilities, which were put in place to preserve health care access during the COVID-19 pandemic. Legislators argued virtual care continues to help patients receive critical services, especially in underserved communities.  

The bill would extend flexibilities that expand the types of practitioners eligible to offer telehealth services and allow Medicare beneficiaries to receive virtual care in their homes and through audio-only calls until the end of 2026, among other changes.  

It would also continue a program that allows certain hospitals to offer inpatient-level care in patients’ homes through 2029.  

The bill comes as the clock is ticking to pass an extension to telehealth flexibilities before they expire at the end of year. Telehealth providers have argued it’s challenging to operate their programs when policy — and reimbursement — is in flux.  

The future of other pandemic-era telehealth flexibilities is also uncertain. Federal regulators allowed clinicians to prescribe some controlled substances, like treatments for opioid use disorder or stimulants for ADHD, without an in-person evaluation during the public health emergency. 

Those flexibilities have been extended twice, but they’re also set to expire at the end of the year. In August, Politico Pro reported the DEA was planning to propose significant restrictions to telehealth prescribing. 

Telehealth groups and providers are pushing Congress and the Biden administration to extend the prescribing flexibilities, worried the window is rapidly closing for regulators to propose a rule.  

Multiple representatives at the Sept. 18 hearing agreed the prescribing flexibilities were critical, arguing patients could be cut off from pain medications, drugs for ADHD or treatments for substance use disorder.