Virginia congressman champions telehealth, will push to extend expiring policies

Rep. Morgan Griffith, R-Va., touted the benefits of telehealth April 15, saying it is uncovering hidden health care savings by encouraging patients to seek more timely care.

"If you're [in] Tannersville, it might take you 30 to 45 minutes, depending exactly where your farm is, to get to that hospital," Griffith said, drawing an example from his rural Virginia congressional district. "And so, there's a real tendency to say, I'll do that tomorrow. And as you all know, as hospital professionals, too often you see people coming in where they should have come in a week before, two months before, and they wait until it's critical."

Griffith, a long-time champion of telehealth who first introduced the Furthering Access to Stroke Telemedicine (FAST) Act in 2015, continues to serve as its champion, particularly with several important waivers slated to expire by the end of the year. He believes he'll be able to secure the necessary bipartisan support to ensure telehealth continues to serve as a viable option for patients and providers.

"We may have some differences on how we do it, but we all agree that telehealth is here to stay and that is a marvelous asset," Griffith said. "I've got a lot of friends on the committee who are right in lockstep with me on this."