Pennsylvania Unprepared for Second Wave of Coronavirus… We Need Telehealth Legislation Now

 

PITTSBURGH, PA (PittsburghNewsWire.com) — If Pennsylvania lawmakers do not act soon, Pennsylvanians may lose access to needed telehealth services, making us all vulnerable to the second wave of the ongoing pandemic.

 

During the pandemic, access to telehealth is critical to allow patients and providers to socially distance and prevent the spread of disease. To address the pandemic, legislators and private insurers have expanded insurance coverage of telehealth services, but these measures are only temporary with some expiring as early as June. This leaves Pennsylvanians vulnerable to the second wave of the pandemic, expected in the Fall. 

 

Pennsylvania Legislators have previously tried to pass legislation to expand access to health services (most recently SB 857), but attempts have repeatedly failed due to partisan politics, despite the widely bipartisan nature of this issue. Due to the ticking clock of expiring access, the threat of a second wave of coronavirus, and the immense benefit that telehealth access would grant to many Pennsylvanians, there is a unique opportunity for legislators to step up and pass relevant legislation in order to improve the health and safety of Pennsylvanians in the face of the ongoing Pandemic.

 

The Advocates for Coverage of Tele-therapy have united to hold legislators accountable and ensure that all Pennsylvanians have access to telehealth, ensuring that they can safely navigate health needs during the second wave of the pandemic. The Advocates for Coverage of Tele-therapy is holding a legislating outreach day on June 15. We are asking all who care about this issue to reach out to their representatives and let them know that we needed expanded access to telehealth now. For details on legislative outreach day, go to https://sites.google.com/view/advocatesfortelehealth/home or follow us on Facebook (@AdvocatesforCoverageofTeletherapy). 

 

Advocates for Coverage of Tele-therapy is a group of therapists, patients and other concerned individuals who want to ensure that everyone in Pennsylvania has access to teletherapy.