We are going to have to really get serious and get serious quickly about hazardous fuels reduction, fire mitigation, and following the science.

We just work with Washington. We get brilliant.

It would be absolute malpractice in this country for this Committee and the Congress to not take concrete steps to do more to reduce hazardous fuels and deal with the fire mitigation threat.

Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman, and thank you for holding the hearing.

there is bipartisan interest in building on the changes that worked well for both seniors and providers

I want to thank Senator Crapo for proposing a hearing on this vital topic, where there's a big opportunity for the two sides to work together.

Senator Crapo and I both thought telehealth was an ideal place to start.

This morning's hearing is an opportunity to talk about the changes that ought to stick around post-pandemic, and there's no better example than telehealth.

I particularly want to thank my colleagues on both sides of the aisle for the exceptional participation yesterday on the infrastructure hearing.

I believe the committee can work together on a bipartisan basis to make that and other changes a reality.

Because for years we pressed the case on a bipartisan basis to update the Medicare guarantee.

. . . it is the policy of this Nation, in fulfillment of its special trust responsibilities and legal obligations to Indians . . . to ensure the highest possible health status for Indians and urban Indians and to provide all resources to…

The CARES Act also allowed Federally Qualified Health Centers, including community health centers and Rural Health Clinics, to receive Medicare payment for telehealth services.

Telehealth is going to be a big part of the transformation going forward, moving beyond acute care to dealing with chronic disease.

The CHRONIC Care Act, which was passed by the committee when Orrin Hatch was the chair, marked the very first time seniors, for example, could get telehealth in-home for kidney disease.

Senator Crapo and I have made this kind of a special priority, because if we are really going to get it right and squeeze out every bit of value for both patients and providers, as well as taxpayers, we have to sort this out.

Well now, Senator Crapo and I are going to do this together. We are going to sort this bureaucracy challenge out.

We thought in particular it made some sense as part of our duties, from time to time to step back and take a look at what happened during the pandemic.

We applaud the leadership of Chairman Wyden and Ranking Member Crapo and members of the Committee for holding this hearing.

What we have seen from the pandemic is that there has been unequal access, and the communities that have been most likely to access telehealth have been whiter, richer, more urban, and with more access.

My view, as a general proposition, is that patients ought to be able to have more accessible opportunities for telehealth.

When COVID-19 hit, it was no longer safe to meet face to face, take a bus to the doctor's office, or even walk into the hospital for care.

The Fourth Amendment is not for sale where the government basically uses a credit card to throw the Fourth Amendment in the trash can.

I think the Trump administration regularly undermined whistleblowers.

Senator Ron Wyden who chairs the Finance Committee, and I, have the Move America Act which would be a very good candidate to be part of the infrastructure package.