Yesterday, Congress acted to extend
currently existing waivers allowing for the provision of telehealth services to
Medicare patients until September 30, 2025, a significant win for the PM&R
specialty. This extension guarantees continued access to rehabilitation
services via telehealth, allowing PM&R physicians to continue to provide
essential care for patients with disabilities, chronic conditions and mobility
challenges.
Your Academy has consistently
advocated for Congress to pass permanent, or long-term, policies guaranteeing
continued access to telehealth services. This advocacy,
frequently in partnership with the Alliance for Connected Care and other
stakeholders, has focused on providing certainty for Medicare providers and
patients who rely on telehealth services.
“Continued access to telehealth
services is vitally important for so many patients who rely on PM&R
physicians for the care that they need,” said Prakash Jayabalan, MD, PhD,
FAAPMR, the chair of AAPM&R’s Health Policy and Legislation Committee. “While
six months is significantly shorter than the Academy and allied stakeholders
have requested for an extension for current telehealth flexibilities, your
Academy will use the next 6 months to continue advocating for a longer-term
policy to maintain access to vitally important telehealth tools.”
Continued Congressional Inaction on Medicare Physician Payment Relief Is a Direct Threat to PM&R Practices
Unfortunately, this bill did not address the 2.8% cut to Medicare physician payment rates that went into effect on January 1 of this year.
Learn more about the Academy’s ongoing work advocating for physician payment reform.
Take Action Now!
We remain committed to advocating
for a sustainable Medicare payment system that values rehabilitation medicine.
We encourage all PM&R physicians to:
Please visit the Academy’s Testimony and Written Comments page for additional updates and contact Academy staff at healthpolicy@aapmr.orgwith any questions.