Political Quotes

“This should be a happy occasion because major telehealth legislation is being brought to the floor on its own. Finally. As a co-chair of the bipartisan Congressional Telehealth Caucus, my fellow caucus members and I have been pushing for telehealth to be recognized for its true value for years. Years. So here we are, and those of us who are leaders on the Congressional Telehealth Caucus, the Energy and Commerce Committee, Ways and Means, and are all longtime champions for telehealth reforms, we have been completely left out of the process. The product we have before us today is a small step in the right direction, but the American people deserve better. This legislation, conceived in a last-minute deal, is, sadly, a missed opportunity. This legislation, well, frankly, it looks familiar. It removes geographic restrictions, enables telehealth access in the home, protects telemental health services--reforms we have been seeking for years now. But it is time to decouple important telehealth reforms from this never-ending public health emergency. Kicking the can down the road another year-and-a-half, as this legislation does, just isn't sufficient. During COVID-19, temporary telehealth expansion was a real bright spot.…”