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AACI Endorses CONNECT for Health Act

The Creating Opportunities Now for Necessary and Effective Care Technologies (CONNECT) for Health Act (H.R. 4189/S.2016) was initially introduced in 2016. Reintroduced in 2023, the comprehensive, bicameral, and widely supported bill aims to expand the telehealth services covered by Medicare and to maintain and bolster the progress made during the COVID-19 pandemic.

With U.S Senators Brian Schatz (D-HI), Roger Wicker (R-MS), Ben Cardin (D-MD), John Thune (R-SD), Mark Warner (D-VA), and Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS) leading the way in the Senate, the bill has garnered bipartisan support from 60 senators. The CONNECT for Health Act was also reintroduced in the House by Representatives Mike Thompson (D-CA), Doris Matsui (D-CA), David Schweikert (R-AZ), and Bill Johnson (R-OH). The legislation would:

  • Permanently remove all geographic restrictions on telehealth services and expand originating sites to include the home and other sites
  • Permanently allow health centers and rural health clinics to provide telehealth services
  • Allow more eligible health care professionals to utilize telehealth services
  • Remove unnecessary in-person visit requirement for telemental health services
  • Allow for the waiver of telehealth restrictions during public health emergencies
  • Require more published data to learn more about how telehealth is being used, impacts on quality of care, and how it can be improved to support patients and health care providers

AACI is among over 170 organizations that have endorsed the CONNECT for Health Act. Other supporting organizations include the American Medical Association, American Heart Association, National Alliance on Mental Illness, Teladoc Health, and the American Hospital Association.

The implementation of the CONNECT for Health Act is a major step toward removing many of the barriers that limit patients’ ability to utilize telehealth services. We encourage you to customize AACI's template letter to contact your legislators and raise awareness of the bill. If you have any questions about the CONNECT for Health Act, please contact AACI Senior Government Relations Manager Jaren Love.

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