WASHINGTON – Today, Congressman David G. Valadao (CA-21) voted in support of H.R. 4040, the Advancing Telehealth Beyond COVID–19 Act. This bill extends for two years some of the telehealth flexibilities put in place at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Rep. Valadao supported this bill, but believes it is in the best interest of rural communities to make these flexibilities permanent.

This week, he joined Reps. Mike Kelly (PA-16) and Brett Guthrie (KY-02) to introduce H.R. 8491. This bill permanently expands the list of practitioners eligible to provide telehealth services to 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. Rep Valadao spoke on the House Floor about this legislation and his support for the Advancing Telehealth Beyond COVID-19 Act. Watch his remarks here. 

“Many of my constituents in the Central Valley often live miles away from health care services or don’t have adequate transportation to seek medical care for themselves or their loved ones,” said Rep. Valadao. “Expanding these critical telehealth services permanently to include more practitioners will make accessing health care easier for patients in rural areas. I’m proud to lead on efforts to ensure these vital services are available for our rural communities even after the public health emergency is over.”

“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.”

“As I have said before, the genie is out of the bottle with telehealth after flexibilities were granted and the use greatly expanded due to the COVID-19 pandemic. With many patients now finding telehealth technology beneficial for certain health care services, I want to ensure that telehealth is here to stay and that patients don’t lose access to their health care provider overnight once the Public Health Emergency expires. I’m proud to take needed steps to do this by supporting H.R. 8491, which would permanently expand the list of practitioners who are eligible to provide telehealth services,” said Rep. Guthrie.

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