During The Pandemic, Telehealth Services Were Able To Finally Be Reimbursed By Medicare, Helping Provide Convenient Access To High-Quality Health Care For Rural Communities In Southern Tier And Across The Country – But That Program Is Set To Expire December 31st Without Congressional Action
Schumer Says We Can’t Go Over The Telehealth Cliff And Have This Lifeline For Healthcare Cut Off, Launches Push To Extend Critical Program In End Of Year Legislation And Keep Seniors Connected To Their Doctors & Care
Schumer: Telehealth Needs To Be Available, Affordable & Accessible For All In Southern Tier & Across America
From the Office of US Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer,
Standing at UR Medicine | Jones Memorial Hospitalin Allegany County, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer launched his push to protect Medicare’s telehealth program, which could expire at the end of next month without Congressional action.
Schumer said it is critical we avoid the upcoming telehealth cliff for Southern Tier seniors, which is especially important to rural areas like Allegany County, to maintain this vital lifeline for accessible healthcare.
“Telehealth services are essential in places like Allegany County; it is a lifeline for our rural areas and seniors who can’t easily travel to the doctor to get the healthcare they need and we can’t let it expire. That’s why I’m launching a push to avoid the telehealth cliff and save this lifeline for tens of thousands of seniors in the Southern Tier,” said Senator Schumer. “We saw telehealth surge in use during the pandemic, and we should make sure that access to your doctor is as easy as picking up your phone. I was proud to help Medicare expand telehealth services during the pandemic, but we need to act quickly to preserve this program and ensure this lifeline isn’t cut off for our seniors come 2025.”
“Whether you are in Binghamton or Hornell, telehealth helps improve accessibility, affordability and makes our hospitals stronger by reducing wait times and making sure patients can get the care they need, and we have seen that right here in Wellsville. It makes it so patients can receive timely care, even when they can’t physically make it to the doctor’s office,” added Schumer.
Schumer explained that during the pandemic, the federal government declared a public health emergency that gave the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) flexibility to reimburse patients for expenses related to telehealth services and allowed providers to deliver audio-only health care services.
Schumer added, “This helped thousands of seniors in rural areas across Upstate NY when the closest doctor is hours away access critical health care services. Telehealth is one of the biggest tools for supporting rural Upstate communities that face shortages of doctors. Especially for seniors who can have difficulty going to a doctor’s office due to mobility challenges, telehealth lets people get routine care without having to worry about how to get to the doctor’s office.”
When the public health emergency officially ended last year, Schumer led efforts to pass legislation to extend those flexibilities that allowed CMS to cover telehealth appointments. However, that legislative authority will expire on December 31st, 2024 without Congressional action. This means that seniors could lose coverage for telehealth appointments, doctors could no longer provide audio-only telehealth services, and fewer providers will be able to receive reimbursement for telehealth services.
Schumer is now pushing to include an extension in the end of year legislation and try to make telehealth services a permanent and accessible option for all on Medicare.
“We are honored to welcome Senator Schumer to Jones Memorial as we shine a spotlight on the transformative power of telehealth for our elderly and rural patients,” said Jim Helms, CEO of JMH. “This visit underscores the critical role technology plays in bridging healthcare gaps, especially in rural communities like ours. We are excited to share our journey and discuss ways to further expand access, ensuring every senior has the opportunity to receive timely, quality care from the comfort of their home. We thank Senator Schumer for his leadership on this very important issue.”
Schumer said that it is important for Congress to extend these flexibilities for the approximately 11,091 seniors in Allegany County and 176,692 seniors across the Southern Tier with Medicare who will lose access to telehealth services. A county-by-county breakdown can be found below:
County | Seniors on Medicare |
Allegany | 11,091 |
Broome | 45,566 |
Chemung | 20,474 |
Chenango | 12,725 |
Delaware | 12,509 |
Otsego | 15,191 |
Schuyler | 5,020 |
Steuben | 23,424 |
Tioga | 12,258 |
Tompkins | 18,434 |
Jones Memorial’s utilization of telehealth visits increased 42% in 2023, with these flexibilities, and has remained at nearly 1,000 primary care visits per year since then.
Schumer has a long history of support for Jones Memorial Hospital, most recently working to deliver significant federal funding for financial recovery after the pandemic, delivering $4,903,664 from the Provider Relief Fund, $3,836,000 from the CARES Act Emergency federal funding program, and working to extend Medicare-Dependent Hospital program, a designation, resulting in over $6M in funding for Jones Memorial over the next 10 years.