Senators Brian Schatz (D-HI) Roger Wicker (R-MS), Thad Cochran R-MS), Ben Cardin (D-MD), John Thune (R-SD), and Mark Warner (D-VA) on May 3, 2017 introduced the “Creating Opportunities Now for Necessary and Effective Care Technologies (CONNECT) for Health Act of 2017.” www.congress.gov.
This bipartisan legislation would expand telehealth services in Medicare, improve care outcomes, make it easier for patients to connect with their healthcare providers, and help cut costs for patients and providers.
Specifically, the legislation would:
- Enable the “CONNECT for Health Act” provisions to expand the use of telehealth in ACOs and Medicare Advantage as well as for home dialysis patients and for the evaluation of an acute stroke
- Expand the use of remote patient monitoring for certain patients with chronic conditions, increase telehealth and remote patient monitoring services in community health centers and rural health clinics and at Native American sites
- Provide direct authority to the HHS Secretary to lift existing restrictions on telehealth when certain quality and cost effectiveness criteria are met
- Expand the use of telemental health services