Expanded Telehealth Access Act

This bill would permanently expand the list of health care practitioners authorized to provide telehealth services under Medicare. The proposal specifically includes audiologists, physical therapists, occupational therapists, speech-language pathologists, and their respective assistants, while also allowing the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to designate additional providers.

This bill directly affects Medicare beneficiaries who utilize telehealth services and the health care practitioners who provide them. Specifically, it impacts audiologists, physical therapists, occupational therapists, and speech-language pathologists, as well as physical therapist assistants and occupational therapy assistants. Additionally, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is affected as the agency responsible for designating other eligible providers under these expanded telehealth provisions.

• Permanent expansion of Medicare telehealth providers. The bill permanently authorizes audiologists, physical therapists, occupational therapists, and speech-language pathologists to provide telehealth services under the Medicare program.
• Inclusion of therapy assistants in telehealth delivery. The legislation specifically allows occupational therapy assistants and physical therapist assistants to provide telehealth services to Medicare beneficiaries.
• Discretionary authority for additional provider designations. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is granted the authority to designate other types of health care practitioners as eligible to provide telehealth services.

This bill expands the existing Medicare telehealth framework by permanently authorizing additional categories of health care practitioners, including therapists and assistants, to provide services under the program.

The bill aims to broaden the scope of Medicare-covered telehealth services by permanently authorizing various health care practitioners, including physical therapists, occupational therapists, audiologists, and speech-language pathologists, to provide these services to patients.