Congresswoman Lizzie Fletcher (TX-07), a member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Health Subcommittee, highlighted the importance of telehealth services during the COVID-19 pandemic.  During a hearing focused on how COVID-19 is changing the delivery of health care, Congresswoman Fletcher emphasized the role telehealth services play in removing barriers to care for people with disabilities, medical complexities, and limited access to transportation. 

“The COVID-19 pandemic has underscored the essential role that health care plays in all our lives.  Telehealth services help bridge the gap in care for patients who face a difficult time accessing health services due to social distancing protocols or other barriers to care,” said Congresswoman Lizzie Fletcher.  “Even before the pandemic, providers in my community have told me how they were using and hoped to expand telehealth services.  These services have now become a vital component of care to many of my constituents.” 

Last year, Congresswoman Fletcher led a successful bipartisan effort to expand the types of providers eligible to provide telehealth services under Medicare during the COVID-19 pandemic.  Prior to the pandemic, Medicare reimbursement for telehealth services was limited and subject to a number of restrictions, including reimbursing only certain covered eligible telehealth services.  Following Congresswoman Fletcher’s work, the Department of Health and Human Services temporarily expanded the categories of practitioners eligible to bill Medicare for telehealth services to include physical therapists, occupational therapists, and speech language pathologists. 

Congresswoman Fletcher has worked to expand health care for Texans throughout her time in Congress.  Over the weekend, her bill, the Expand Medicaid Now Act, to incentivize states that have not yet expanded Medicaid—including Texas—passed as a part of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021.   Fletcher’s bill provides additional federal funding to any new expansion state by increasing the base Federal Medical Assistance Percentages (FMAP), the rate at which the federal government pays for its share of a state’s Medicaid expenditures, by five percentage points for two years.  The current FMAP for Texas is 61.81%.  Under this legislation, if Texas were to expand Medicaid the federal share of Medicaid to the state would increase to 66.81% for two years.

You can watch the Health Subcommittee hearing here.