Omaha, Neb.-based CHI Health sent a letter to Congress on Nov. 28 urging them to continue the pandemic-era safe harbor for first-dollar high deductible health plan telehealth coverage.
The letter, shared with Becker's, emphasized the health system's support for Congress' work so far to permanently remove geographic restrictions on CMS coverage of telehealth services to ensure Medicare will continue to cover patients' live virtual care and audio visits. But Congress also needs to extend safe harbors for telehealth coverage by high-deductible health plans, which is set to expire at the end of the year, in order to maintain and expand healthcare access and reduce burdens on providers, the letter said.
"Ensuring that Americans can continue to access virtual services is crucial to maintaining and expanding access to care for Americans, whether they are Medicare or HDHP beneficiaries. The sudden unavailability of live video and audio services would force these beneficiaries to travel to healthcare sites to access care in person — a sometimes impossible proposition especially in rural areas — straining providers across the healthcare ecosystem," wrote CHI Health in the letter.