Telehealth Services Expanded To Help Rural Hospitals

Telehealth services are being expanded in Missouri.

Lake representative and congresswoman Vicky Hartzler says as part of President Trump’s recent executive order, the expansion serves to improve connections for the rural communities.

The order proposes to permanently allow for evaluations and management of a patient, as well as specific visits, for those who have cognitive impairments and those in the vulnerable populations.

Rural hospitals such as Lake Regional can continue using provider tools to modernize their care for the community under the new order, which also works to create infrastructure to support it including rural broadband internet.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congresswoman Vicky Hartzler (MO-04) announces expanded telehealth services for Missouri’s 4^th congressional district as part of President Donald Trump’s Executive Order improving services for rural communities.

The Executive Order (EO), issued on August 3^rd, aims to expand the current network of telehealth services built by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and proposes to permanently allow services for evaluation and management of a patient, and certain types of visits for patients with cognitive impairments. This will allow vulnerable populations, such as senior citizens or those with pre-existing conditions, to visit with doctors and medical staff virtually using teleconference platforms.

The EO gives rural hospitals and health care providers the tools they need to modernize their care for rural communities. It establishes strategic investments to create the necessary infrastructure to support the telehealth network, underscoring the important need for affordable, quality rural broadband. The order also puts in motion a new payment model for rural hospitals to use.

The telehealth network was funded after a series of preceding orders from the President in the spring and after funding authorized under the CARES Act, which Hartzler supported in March.

Hartzler has also worked to bolster funding for critical grants and federal programs related to the deployment of rural broadband. This includes $555 million to the ReConnect grants and loans, as well as over $780 million for other grant and loan programs through the Department of Agriculture’s Rural Development agency.