Medicare coverage for telehealth visits may not be an option in the new year. U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is advocating for the continuation of pandemic-era expansions to telehealth services through Medicare.
Schumer visited Hamilton's Community Memorial Hospital recently to advocate with local leaders and health professionals to keep telehealth appointments under Medicare coverage. Schumer said if the program expires, fewer people would be able to receive critical care.
"There would be no reimbursement through Medicare," Schumer said. "So what would happen? First, a lot of seniors wouldn't be able to use it, a lot of providers wouldn't be able to use it because they couldn't afford it. So the overall use would go down and all those benefits, better health, cheaper cost, more convenience would all go away."
Jeff Coakley, president and CEO of Hamilton's Community Memorial Hospital said the opportunities that telehealth provides are vital to the well-being of communities.
"I can truly say that we've probably, in upstate New York, never been in quite a fragile position as we are in today," Coakley said. "And it's going to take the support of the Senator and his friends in the congressional delegation to keep us viable and supporting safe, high-quality care in the future."
There are almost 250,000 Medicare recipients in central New York and the Mohawk Valley who could lose access to telehealth treatments. The coverage expansions are set to expire Dec. 31.
