SAVE TELEHEALTH ☎️

Dear Member of Congress:

Essential U.S. telehealth benefits are set to expire at the end of the year (December 31, 2024) as millions of disabled Americans rely on these services for doctor appointments, prescriptions, and other medical needs. A temporary extension of these benefits through December 31, 2026 is currently included in the proposed funding bill currently before Congress. Please vote to keep these benefits in the Continuing Resolution.

For many patients, telehealth is not just a convenience, but a matter of life and death. Some patients do not have specialists for their disease located in their area. If they cannot travel, they must rely on telehealth. For many of us, leaving home at all can be detrimental to health and possibly fatal.

The importance of telehealth has been summarized in a Forbes article by infectious disease specialist Dr. Judy Stone, who highlights a study where “cancer patients found 73.8% rated their first telemedicine visit as good as or better than an in-person visit, and 4606 (18.9%) rated it superior.”

A group of bipartisan lawmakers have already called on the DEA to issue a two-year extension of telemedicine benefits, first put in place in 2020. These benefits are specifically applicable to Medicare but are expected to affect telehealth access through private insurance indirectly, as private plans tend to follow Medicare when setting coverage.

The following examples illustrate why telehealth is essential:

-Currently Medicare/Medicaid annual spending for non-emergency medical treatment is approximately $3 Billion per year. This cost is estimated to increase dramatically. Plus, some states pay additional to fill in gaps for patient transport. Many patients are too ill or are disabled and unable to drive themselves to medical appointments. This is especially difficult for patients in rural areas. Having a medical appointment without arranging a long ride can in some instances ensure more timely care, replace in-person home health visits, and save transportation costs.

-Telehealth can in some instances replace in-person home health visits, saving caregiver transportation time and costs for those services.

-Employees miss less work when transport time isn't required. This is also true for families who care for elderly relatives. This adds to employers’ bottom line. Childcare challenges/expenses will also be alleviated.

-Patients no longer delaying care due to transportation challenges will result in earlier intervention. Earlier treatment will reduce medical costs for more extensive care that can result from avoiding timely care.

-Telehealth can save money by reducing the number of ER visits. In many instances expensive ER visits can be replaced by medical consultation via telehealth.

-Telehealth allows immunocompromised patients, such as cancer patients, patients with an immune deficiency, or patients on immune-suppressing drugs to safely access doctors without exposure to pathogens in a medical setting. These patients can become sick as a result of being exposed to infection in the course of seeking medical care. This is true particularly since the advent of SARS-CoV-2 and the fact that PPE is no longer required in medical settings.

-The US healthcare system continues to suffer from rising setbacks and ailments as a direct result of SARS-CoV-2. The airborne nature of this virus has prevented many folks in the disabled community from seeking medical care in order to avoid reinfection.

-Telehealth offers the simplicity of a phone call for patients who are low literacy or not tech savvy.

-With telehealth there is no need for cancellations due to bad weather or hazards for seniors, like falling on ice.

-Telehealth allows patients access to providers outside of their region. Whether that's rural patients seeing specialists in a city located hours away, or urban patients seeing a rural provider whose schedule is less saturated, telehealth improves access.

We need Congress to act quickly and approve the extensions of telehealth flexibilities through December 31, 2026 to save lives, reduce unnecessary expenditures, and strengthen access to safe, cost-effective healthcare for those in need.

Thank you for your help!