On March days that dawn cold and snowy, or warmer and muddy, with bad driving conditions on rural roads, meeting with a physician over the phone or video call can be especially useful for Vermonters.
鈥淚t does help with the access issues that we experience,鈥� said Kathy Benoit, the CEO of NOTCH, a Federally Qualified Health Center serving Franklin and Grand Isle counties. 鈥淲e are quite far from Burlington, here in Richford. So for some people, they're not able to get specialty care if they had to transport there.鈥�
Of the NOTCH patients using virtual visits 鈥� not only with specialists but for follow-ups and medication checks, for annual wellness checks, for bad weather days, for appointments outside of regular business hours 鈥� Benoit said some 700 of them have Medicare as their only health insurance.
But if Congress doesn鈥檛 do anything by the end of the month, those NOTCH patients, plus and millions of Americans on Medicare, could
鈥淭here would be no reimbursement mechanism,鈥� Benoit said. 鈥淪o that would be unfortunate.鈥�
The current reimbursement mechanism under Medicare began during the pandemic, when the federal health insurance program for people 65 and older and for people with disabilities started . Congress extended that .
The extension, however, only lasts until March 31, 2025. That鈥檚 unless lawmakers approve 鈥� which House Republican leaders are proposing to fund the government through Sept. 30, 2025 鈥� or , which would make the expanded Medicare telehealth coverage permanent.
A spokesperson for Sen. Peter Welch wrote in an email that he would advocate for the latter bill.
Rep. Becca Balint made a similar commitment last week.
鈥淚 will work relentlessly to ensure telehealth can remain accessible for all Vermonters,鈥� she wrote in a statement. 鈥淚 understand how worried Vermonters are about their access to telehealth.鈥�
State law , and Vermont Medicaid
Vermonters who access telehealth services through Medicare are concerned about the potential change 鈥� and are reluctant to talk about it publicly, according to Mel Houser, the executive director of All Brains Belong VT. The community health organization serves neurodivergent Vermonters, including patients who have long COVID-19, and are bedbound.
鈥淭he experience of many of our patients who depend on The System for survival 鈥� whether that be Medicare, Medicaid, SSDI, etc., is that there is a hesitancy to speak out because it does not feel safe,鈥� Houser wrote in a text message. 鈥淭he reality is that something they rely on for basic needs can be taken from them at the drop of a dime.鈥�
Greg Marchildon, the Vermont state director for AARP, said what appears to be happening is that Medicare telehealth coverage is getting caught up in the 鈥渢idal wave of information鈥� coming out of Washington.
鈥淪o it's troublesome and worrisome,鈥� he said. 鈥淎nd we're hoping that Congress will get it together.鈥�
House lawmakers
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