Kelly, Thompson, Smith introduce legislation to expand Americans' telehealth options

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Today, U.S. Reps. Mike Kelly (R-PA), Mike Thompson (D-CA), and Adrian Smith (R-NE), members of the Ways & Means Subcommittee on Health, announced the introduction of H.R. 1614, bipartisan legislation that would permanently expand the list of practitioners eligible who provide telehealth services to include qualified physical therapists, occupational therapists, speech language pathologists, and audiologists.

Currently, these practitioners do not have permanent authorization to deliver electronic or virtual care to their patients. Families have come to rely on telehealth since the COVID-19 pandemic. Congress must act to preserve these authorities so that families, particularly in rural and underserved areas, have equal access to world-class health care. 

“Americans across the country, especially rural areas, have seen the benefits of telehealth services following the COVID-19 pandemic. Seniors now have the convenience of seeing their doctor from the comfort of their own home. Families with children have new flexibility to work around their busy lives.” said Rep. Kelly. “I am pleased to lead the expansion of these critical services to cover more practitioners who play a vital role in caring for our communities. This bill makes great strides towards delivering modern solutions to our constituents’ future health care needs.”

“Telehealth is a proven method of delivering health care to patients who need it, especially those in rural, difficult-to-access, and underserved communities. Permanently expanding telehealth capabilities to more practitioners just makes sense," said Rep. Thompson. "I've been working to expand telehealth adoption and access for decades, and I'm thankful to Reps. Kelly and Smith for their partnership on this bipartisan legislation that will reduce barriers to accessing health care for Americans across the country."

“Seniors have come to rely on telehealth as a proven tool to expand health care access and improve health outcomes. This bill will make current temporary telehealth authorizations for physical therapists, occupational therapists, speech language pathologists and audiologists permanent," said Rep. Smith. "This will enable such providers to better serve patients who may struggle to access care, as many Nebraskans in rural and remote areas do. I thank Reps. Kelly and Thompson for working with me to reintroduce this bill.”

“Waivers authorizing occupational therapy professionals to provide services via telehealth in Medicare have enabled beneficiaries to receive effective occupational therapy intervention in new environments while removing barriers to care that often result in patients not receiving OT services at all,” said Alyson Stover, MOT, JD, OTR/L, BCP, President, American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA). “AOTA champions the bi-partisan efforts of Representatives Kelly, Thompson and Smith to ensure that the provision of occupational therapy delivered via telehealth will remain an option for Medicare beneficiaries.”

BACKGROUND

Reps. Kelly, Smith, and Thompson previously introduced this legislation in 2024.

In July 2022, Rep. Kelly voted in support of H.R. 4040, the Advancing Telehealth Beyond COVID-19 Act. The bill passed the U.S. House of Representatives by a vote of 416-12. This bill contains identical language to Rep. Kelly’s legislation, H.R. 8491, which he introduced alongside Reps. Brett Guthrie (KY-2) and David Valadao (CA-21).

Rep. Kelly is a leader in advancing telehealth legislation in Congress. In the 117th Congress, Rep. Kelly proudly served on the Healthy Futures Task Force, which focused on expanding telehealth options, among other priorities. In March 2024, he championed the Telehealth Extension Act, which he previously introduced in 2021. This bipartisan bill ensures permanent access to telehealth for patients across the country by ending outdated geographic and site restrictions on where patients can receive approved telehealth services.