Sixteen leading healthcare organizations have partnered to launch Telehealth Access for America, a public education campaign to defend telehealth access.
The campaign, launched Dec. 2, is urging Congress to protect access to telehealth, arguing such services lead to better health outcomes, greater equity, more patient choice and lower costs.
The 16 members are: Adventist Health Policy Association, Alliance for Connected Care, AARP, American Heart Association, American Hospital Association, American Telemedicine Association, Ascension, Athenahealth, Consumer Technology Association, Executives for Health Innovation, Health Innovation Alliance, Healthcare Leadership Council, Included Health, Johns Hopkins Medicine, Partnership to Advance Virtual Care, and Teladoc Health.
"Access to telehealth is vital to Americans' well-being and quality of life. Flexibility provided by policymakers during the pandemic led to greater use of telehealth services made possible by providers' investments in these tools," Rick Pollack, president and CEO of the American Hospital Association, said in a statement. "Without action from Congress, millions of Americans who have come to rely on telehealth services will lose access to the care they value."