Op-ed: Isabel Soto: Americans can’t afford for telehealth options to expire

Americans are not as sharply divided as we might think, especially when it comes to addressing the rising costs of health care. 

Congress isn’t that divided either, and it has moved forward a bipartisan solution to driving down costs and ensuring access to care. 

Millions of Americans rely on telehealth to get the care they need. It is crucial for treating mental health and ensuring access in rural and underserved communities. But telehealth isn’t just for those who otherwise lack access. All Americans are taking advantage of its availability. One in four adults have used telehealth in the last month, and nearly four out of five intend to use it in the future.  

But this access could disappear in January if Congress doesn’t act soon. 

Thankfully, a package of bipartisan bills to extend the Covid-era support for telehealth stands ready for Congress to pass. The package, which the House Ways and Means Committee passed unanimously, preserves Medicare patients’ access to telehealth for another two years while taking other steps to preserve access to care in rural and underserved communities. 

While partisan brinksmanship is too often the norm on Capitol Hill, this package is a refreshing demonstration of both parties’ ability to work together and bring down the cost of health care while also ensuring greater access. 

Nearly 75 percent of Americans worry about the cost of health care services. High costs often force individuals to choose between necessary treatment or preventative care and paying rent or having enough groceries for their families. Voters are right to be worried: The cost of health insurance jumped even more this year than it has in years past. While a variety of factors are driving up health care costs, telehealth stands as a remarkable counterweight to the current trend. One study found that in-person care was nearly 30 percent more expensive to deliver than telehealth was, and this differential doesn’t account for the savings in time and transportation for the patient. 

While all Americans stand to benefit, permanent telehealth expansion has been shown to bring the largest gains to underserved communities — especially minority and rural communities — and is a powerful tool in behavioral health treatment. Hispanics, for example, already face the lowest likelihood to receive preventative care, in addition to facing the most cost barriers to receiving care.  

Rural America faces the dual challenge of cost and geographic distance from care options. The closest options often require a significant time investment that can be completely erased with reliable telehealth access. Sixty million Americans live in rural areas, but one in ten have seen a nearby hospital close its doors, and one in five lack close access to specialists. 

In addition to expanding access to all kinds of care for rural and underserved patients, telehealth can fight one of the most troubling developments in the country — our mental health crisis. The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated disturbing trends in depression, suicidality, and isolation. 

Nearly 60 percent of psychiatric services are received through telehealth, giving those seeking mental health care more freedom to find help when and where it works best for them. 

The mental health crisis can disproportionately harm rural Americans and minority groups. Suicide rates, for example, are rising nationally, but are rising the fastest among rural and minority groups.  

But telehealth means people get the care they need, on their terms. 

Losing access to telehealth would be catastrophic for the most vulnerable among us. 

For low-income and rural communities, where care is already sparse and difficult to access, telehealth is a lifeline to the care people need.  

Telehealth is already changing access. When the barriers to telehealth fell at the start of the pandemic, low-income and Hispanic communities — the largest minority group in rural America — saw the greatest jump in telehealth use. 

Telehealth represents the future of health care, offering patients and their doctors more convenient, private, and personalized options that save time, money, and lives.  

No wonder members of both political parties have lined up behind keeping telehealth available for all Americans. 

It’s time to get the job done. It’s time for Congress to extend access to telehealth. 

Isabel Soto is policy director for The LIBRE Initiative