CONNECT for Health Act Introduced in Congress

The Creating Opportunities Now for Necessary and Effective Care Technologies (CONNECT) for Health Act of 2019 was recently introduced in both the House of Representatives (H.R. 4932) and Senate (S.2741). The bill would grant authority for the secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services to waive current telehealth restrictions in fee-for-service Medicare, including remote services in the home. It also removes geographic restrictions and adds the home as an originating site for mental health and emergency medical services. The bill further allows for the use of telehealth in the recertification of a beneficiary for the hospice benefit.

The Society and over 100 other groups support the bill, which has bipartisan support in both the House and Senate. Go here to read the entire bill and here for a summary.