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Since 2011, I have been writing the Telehealth.org blog to inform behavioral health professionals of telehealth advocacy to support the permanent approval of telehealth and telemedicine reimbursement at state and federal levels. This week’s exciting update briefs you on the structure of two pivotal pieces of legislation that, if approved, will permanently alter the nature of telehealth and telemedicine reimbursement in the United States. It also outlines how you can help to ensure the passage of these crucial bills. As you read about them below, you will undoubtedly see the bigger picture – how they are positioning telehealth and telemedicine reimbursement to steadily become a cornerstone of advancing 21st-century healthcare for US citizens, starting with additional Medicare revisions. The first bill of note is the 2023 update to the Creating Opportunities Now for Necessary and Effective Care Technologies (CONNECT) for Health Act, which, among other telehealth expansions, will permanently remove the in-person requirement for behavioral health clients and patients receiving Medicare.* The second bill was recently advanced by the Alliance for Connected Care, which led 188 organizations urging House Ways & Means Committee leaders to advance the Telehealth Expansion Act of 2023. The following article briefly outlines both bills.
Updated CONNECT Act
Although many behavioral health practitioners have been distraught about Medicare’s requirement for an in-person visit for behavioral healthcare, current legislation will negate that possibility.
Spearheaded by a physician, US Senator Bill Cassidy, MD (R-LA), the updated Creating Opportunities Now for Necessary and Effective Care Technologies (CONNECT) for Health Act was filed on June 16, 2023, along with Senators Brian Schatz (D-HI), Roger Wicker (R-MS), Ben Cardin (D-MD),…