Expanded Telehealth Access Act
Senate Bill Would Add Therapists, Audiologists to Medicare Telehealth Coverage
Legislative Progress
Key Points
- This bill would allow more types of healthcare workers to get paid by Medicare for seeing patients over video or phone. Currently, Medicare only pays for telehealth from a limited list of doctors and specialists.
- The policy specifically adds physical therapists, occupational therapists, speech-language pathologists, and audiologists to the list of approved telehealth providers. It also includes assistants who work under their supervision.
- This change aims to help seniors and people with disabilities who may have trouble traveling to an office for regular therapy. It makes it easier to receive rehabilitation and specialized care from home.
- The bill gives the government the power to add even more types of healthcare providers to the approved telehealth list in the future without needing to pass a new law.
- If passed, these changes would take effect immediately upon the bill being signed into law, providing permanent access to services that were previously only available through temporary rules.
Impact Analysis
Personal Impact
Programs
This bill would permanently expand the types of healthcare providers who can bill Medicare for telehealth visits. It adds physical therapists, occupational therapists, speech-language pathologists, audiologists, and their assistants to the approved list. This means Medicare beneficiaries — especially seniors and people with disabilities — could receive therapy and audiology services from home via video or phone instead of traveling to a clinic. It also gives the HHS Secretary authority to add more provider types in the future without new legislation.
Disabilities
Milestones
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
Sent to a congressional committee for expert review. The committee decides whether this bill moves forward.
Introduced in Senate
The bill was officially filed and given a number. It now enters the legislative queue.
Votes
No votes have been recorded for this legislation yet.
Related News
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Broadening Push To Extend Medicare Telehealth Coverage Includes Amazon
A coalition of healthcare providers and tech giants is pushing Congress to make pandemic-era Medicare telehealth waivers permanent. The effort highlights the Expanded Telehealth Access Act, which seeks to ensure therapists and audiologists remain eligible for reimbursement beyond temporary extensions.
Bipartisan bill would expand Medicare telehealth coverage for therapy
Lawmakers reintroduced the Expanded Telehealth Access Act to permanently allow Medicare to reimburse physical therapists, occupational therapists, speech-language pathologists, and audiologists. The bill aims to prevent a 'telehealth cliff' for seniors who rely on virtual rehabilitative care.
Telehealth's next chapter
Reps. Mikie Sherrill and Diana Harshbarger are leading a bipartisan push to expand the types of providers Medicare pays for telehealth. The Expanded Telehealth Access Act specifically targets physical and occupational therapists, whose ability to bill for remote care is currently tied to waivers.
Source Information
Document Type
Congressional Bill
Official Title
Expanded Telehealth Access Act
Data Sources
Sponsor
Cosponsors
(1)Analysis generated by AI. Always verify with official sources.