ACC urges Congress to restore telemedicine flexibilities
American College of Cardiology (ACC) members is lobbying Congress to restore telehealth flexibilities that ended Oct. 1. The advocacy effort represents a critical part of the 2025 ACC Legislative Conference in Washington, D.C.
According to the ACC, losing the ability to use telehealth could result in Medicare patients having reduced access to their physicians.
The Medicare telehealth flexibilities in question expanded how and when virtual visits could be conducted. They had been in place since the COVID-19 public health emergency. Telehealth usage was low prior COVID, but rapidly expanded during the pandemic. Many health systems and physicians found the ability of patients to meet online in secure video calls helped make care more efficient and allowed more visits with patients to occur. It also improved efficiency and convenience for patients.
Despite resounding support from medical societies and physicians to make these flexibilities permanent going forward, Congress let them lapse.
"This is the end of it and it will impair our ability to see patients," Jeff Marshall, MD, chair-elect of the ACC Health Affairs Committee and an interventional cardiologist at Northside Hospital Cardiovascular Institute in Atlanta, explained in an interview with Cardiovascular Business. "We feel this is important. We not only want an extension, we want this to be permanent. We learned since COVID that this expands access for patients to healthcare."
Other cardiology societies concerned over end of telehealth flexibilities
Other cardiology societies share the ACC's concerns about these telehealth policies being allowed to lapse.
The American Society of Echocardiography (ASE), for example, said it is monitoring the situation closely and will continue to advocate for permanent telehealth legislation.
ASE is actively supporting the Creating Opportunities Now for Necessary and Effective Care Technologies (CONNECT) for Health Act of 2025 (CONNECT) Act (S.1261 and H.R.4206). The bill has 65 bipartisan cosponsors and aims to make telehealth a permanent part of Medicare. Neither the Senate or House versions of the bill have made it out of committee since first being proposed in April.
The American Society of Nuclear Cardiology (ASNC) told its members they should consider adjusting patient schedules for telehealth services. ASNC also encouraged proactive communication with patients about the issue, including providing an advance beneficiary notice of noncoverage (ABN) if appropriate. This notifies the patient that Medicare may not pay for a specific service, allowing the patient to decide whether to receive it and accept the financial responsibility.
Providers can check the status of telehealth flexibilities at the U.S. Health and Human Services telehealth page.
MGMA says expiration of telehealth policies sets back patient care
Prior to the pandemic, telemedicine for Medicare patients was only allowed in rural areas, with geographic restrictions outlined by the Centers For Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). Telehealth still required the patient to travel to an "originating site," like their primary care doctor's office, where the telehealth calls with specialists located in larger cities would be hosted. The expansion of telehealth flexibilities allowed patients to visit their doctors via secure audio or video calls from any location, including their home on their mobile phones or computers. Many telehealth advocates saw the expansion as a modernization of healthcare using widely available technology and helping make the healthcare system more efficient.
The Medical Group Management Association (MGMA) sent and urgent call to Congressional leaders to address the expiration of these telehealth policies. The group represents 60,000 medical practice administrators, executives and leaders, more than 15,000 medical group practices and 350,000 physicians.
"This lapse of telehealth waivers is sowing significant confusion and forcing medical groups to make difficult decisions about rescheduling appointments, transitioning from telehealth to in-patient care, or potentially providing telehealth treatment to Medicare beneficiaries during this lapse in funding even
though it may not be reimbursed. We continue to hear firsthand from medical group members about their frustrations with short-term fixes despite broad agreement on the value of telehealth for Medicare beneficiaries," Anders Gilberg, MGMA senior vice president of government affairs, explained in the letter.
He said Congress should retroactively reinstate these telehealth flexibilities to the date of their expiration as soon as possible and work toward a permanent solution. This echoes similar calls from many other medical societies and associations.
"Physician practices have embraced telehealth changes and made investments in necessary tools, workforce training and modifications to clinical and operational workflows. Congress’ continued commitment over the past five years to telehealth flexibilities, such as the removal of geographic and originating site restrictions and the expansion of providers who can offer telehealth services, significantly bolstered the growth and quality of telehealth services for senior patients across the country. Failing to reinstate these flexibilities not only undermines these investments, but disrupts Medicare beneficiaries’ access to care," Anders said in the MGMA letter.
Dave Fornell has covered healthcare for more than 17 years, with a focus in cardiology and radiology. Fornell is a 5-time winner of a Jesse H. Neal Award, the most prestigious editorial honors in the field of specialized journalism. The wins included best technical content, best use of social media and best COVID-19 coverage. Fornell was also a three-time Neal finalist for best range of work by a single author. He produces more than 100 editorial videos each year, most of them interviews with key opinion leaders in medicine. He also writes technical articles, covers key trends, conducts video hospital site visits, and is very involved with social media. E-mail: [email protected]