Rep. Jill Tokuda (D-HI) and Rep. Glenn Thompson (R-PA) are circulating a bipartisan letter urging the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to implement Medicare payment parity for telehealth services provided by Community Health Centers (CHC) and Rural Health Clinics (RHC).
Currently, Medicare reimburses medical telehealth visits at health centers at less than half the rate of in-person visits. This disparity limits health centers’ ability to offer telehealth services to Medicare beneficiaries, particularly seniors in rural communities. The deadline is July 13.