More Telehealth Data Urged Before Making Eased Rules Permanent

Congress should get a clearer picture of how patients use telehealth before making pandemic-inspired relaxed rules permanent, Medicare advisers say.

Lawmakers recently extended telehealth changes until five months after the end of the public health emergency is declared. This extension in the omnibus spending package eases telehealth advocates’ concerns about a “telehealth cliff,” or the abrupt cut off of coverage of most virtual care.

Many medical groups have called on lawmakers to make broader telehealth permanent because it increases health-care access and convenience. But concerns about quality, cost, and fraud keep lawmakers from moving forward on telehealth, which generally has ...