Maintain telehealth access post COVID-19

During the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency, federal and state policymakers put in place a variety of “flexibilities” that suspended various rules that affected individuals with MH/SUDs’ ability to receive services via telehealth. Such flexibilities allowed usage to skyrocket, with nearly one-third of all MH/SUD visits occurring via telehealth in the second quarter of 2022 – a 45-fold increase.[1] Unfortunately, Congress did not make all the beneficial changes made during the Public Health Emergency permanent prior to the Emergency’s expiration, though it did delay their expiration for two years. To ensure permanent access to MH/SUD services via telehealth, Congress must act.

The most comprehensive bill, the CONNECT for Health Act, has broad bipartisan support and would make all COVID-19 telehealth flexibilities in Medicare permanent and further expand access to telehealth services.[2] Critical provisions include permanently removing all geographic restrictions, allowing telehealth visits to originate from homes and other sites, and eliminating the requirement that Medicare beneficiaries receiving mental health services via telehealth have an in-person visit every six months. The in-person requirement does not exist for substance use disorder services and creates a barrier to access, particularly for individuals without easy access to in-person telehealth services. Other key bipartisan legislation includes the Telemental Health Care Access Act[3], which would also eliminate the Medicare mental health services in-person requirement, and the Telehealth Expansion Act[4], which would extend provisions that allow employers to provide pre-deductible coverage of telehealth services for individuals with high-deductible health plans linked to health savings accounts.