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COVID-19 Telehealth-Use Explosion Gets US Senators Crossing Party Lines To Expand Its Practice

Both GOP and Democratic senators praise the health care delivery option, introduce slate of bills to support telemedicine practices

 
• By Sue Darcey

Many US senators became telemedicine converts during this spring’s COVID-19 trial-by-fire use of the health care delivery option, and avidly pushed bills to back it at a mid-June hearing.

woman patient who got fever and cough suspected of covid-19 or coronavirus infection consult asian doctor via vdo call. telemedicine and new normal lifestyle concept

US senators and witnesses at a 17 June health care committee hearing testified overwhelmingly in favor of making permanent some temporary reimbursement codes for telemedicine use that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) approved for the duration of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Both Democrats and Republicans sang the praises of telehealth medical care delivery options after seeing its application throughout their own...

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