House spending plan includes some telehealth allowances, but more work is needed

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Telehealth could get a boost from a proposed federal spending plan, according to a leading advocacy group for online health care.

The American Telemedicine Association (ATA) and its advocacy arm, ATA Action, praised the budget continuing resolution (CR) published by the House of Representatives’ Appropriations Committee. The draft CR includes Medicare telehealth flexibilities and mentions the Acute Hospital Care at Home Program. President Donald J. Trump implemented those in his first term, and the provisions would remain in place until at least Sept. 30, 2025.

That ensures patients have continuing access to care via telehealth. ATA last week sent a letter to congressional appropriations leaders, outlining needed allowances for telehealth, and they listened, said ATA Action Executive Director Kyle Zebley.

Kyle Zebley
_{© American Telemedicine Association}

“We appreciate Congress taking action to prevent a lapse in these vital telehealth flexibilities,” he said in a statement. “While we would have preferred a longer extension, this step ensures uninterrupted access to telehealth services for patients and clinicians, as we continue working toward permanent solutions that reflect the needs of modern health care.”

“But there remains work to be done. The CR must still be passed by Congress, and its path forward remains uncertain,” he said.

Also uncertain: key provisions that ATA hopes Congress will include in a final spending plan. Those are:

• First-dollar coverage for High Deductible Health Plan-Health Savings Accounts (HDHP-HSA)
• Telehealth as an excepted benefit
• Expansion of the Medicare Diabetes Prevention Program (MDPP) to include telehealth components
• Expansion of in-home cardiopulmonary rehabilitation services

Congressional leaders left those items out of the CR approved at the end of 2024, and the more recent bill. With those expired, millions of people do not have access to telehealth coverage, according to ATA.

“We strongly urge Congress to reinstate these provisions as soon as possible,” Zebley said. “Every day these flexibilities remain lapsed is another day that patients cannot access the care they need, employers struggle to provide affordable coverage, and critical gaps in health care widen."