Senate Passes Schatz-Wicker Resolution Designating Telehealth Awareness Week

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Senate passed a bipartisan resolution authored by U.S. Senators Brian Schatz (D-Hawai'i) and Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) designating September 15-21 as "Telehealth Awareness Week." The resolution recognizes that telehealth has helped millions of Americans across the country access quality health care, and has become a critical component of health care delivery.

"Telehealth helps people access quality health care when and where they need it, and our resolution highlights the broad, bipartisan support for raising awareness of and expanding access to telehealth," said Senator Schatz, co-chair of the Senate Telehealth Working Group.

"Telehealth is a cost-effective way for people in rural and underserved areas to access health care. Increasing the services available to patients remains one of my top priorities," Senator Wicker said.

The resolution affirms the bipartisan support in Congress for telehealth and encourages expanded access to telehealth services for all people, including members of rural and underserved communities. It notes that 25 percent of Medicare beneficiaries used telehealth services at least once in 2023, and that nearly 90 percent were satisfied with their experience. It concludes that "Telehealth Awareness Week" unites the efforts of patients, caregivers, health care providers, policymakers, and other stakeholders to advance the role of telehealth in health care.

The resolution is cosponsored by U.S. Senators Ben Cardin (D-Md.), John Thune (R-S.D.), Mark Warner (D-Va.), and Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.).

Schatz has led efforts to expand access to telehealth, including reintroducing the CONNECT for Health Act, the most comprehensive bipartisan telehealth legislation in Congress. Since its first iteration in 2016, several provisions from the bill have been signed into law.

The full text of the resolution is available here.

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