Members of the U.S. House of Representatives, led by Rep. Glenn “GT” Thompson (R-PA) and Rep. Jill Tokuda (D-HI), sent a letter with 66 bipartisan co-signers this week to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Dr. Oz asking for telehealth payment parity for Community Health Centers (CHC) and Rural Health Clinics (RHC).
The letter stated “As bipartisan representatives focused on ensuring seniors’ access to care in rural communities, we urge CMS to establish Medicare payment parity for medical visits administered via telehealth by CHCs and RHCs. In many of our districts, CHCs and RHCs are the primary and often only source of low-cost, high-quality primary care for Medicare beneficiaries. Long distances, limited transportation, and persistent workforce shortages can make accessing CHC and RHC services in person difficult for our older constituents. Telehealth has therefore become a routine and necessary means of delivering care that can reduce preventable ER visits and hospital admissions, lowering long-term taxpayer spending on healthcare.”
In addition to Rep. Thompson, Rep. Chrissy Houlahan (PA-06), Rep. Dane Meuser (PA-09) and Rep. Dwight Evans (PA-03) were the other Representatives from Pennsylvania to sign the letter.