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Today, Congressman Bill Johnson (R-OH), along with Congressman Mike Thompson (D-CA), Congressman John Curtis (R-UT), and Congresswoman Doris Matsui (D-CA), announced the introduction of bipartisan legislation to designate the week of September 17^th through September 23^rd as “Telehealth Awareness Week.” This resolution provides an opportunity to unite patients, health care providers, and policy makers in advancing the role of telehealth in our everyday lives:

“We all learned during the COVID-19 pandemic about the value of telehealth, and it continues to be in huge demand today, especially in rural America,” said Rep. Bill Johnson.  “I’ve heard from patient after patient and provider after provider who’ve taken advantage of emerging, safe telehealth services, and this resolution helps shine a light on available resources that will lead to more opportunities, including increased accessibility to specialized telehealth care. Now is the time to demonstrate what an incredible resource telehealth already is to many and can be to even millions more.”

“We live in an increasingly modern era, and telehealth plays an essential role in ensuring that health care is affordable and accessible for more Americans,” said Congressman Thompson. “I am proud to work with a bipartisan group of my colleagues to introduce a resolution marking Telehealth Awareness Week in support of all those in underserved and hard-to-reach communities who rely on telehealth. I look forward to continuing my efforts to increase access to telehealth and deliver health care to millions of Americans.”

“Telehealth has become an essential part of our health care system, allowing Americans to access care more efficiently,” said Congresswoman Matsui. “I’m proud to join my colleagues in introducing the Telehealth Awareness Week resolution, which not only calls attention to the benefits of telehealth, but also recommits Congress to extending access to this vital service permanently. I look forward to continuing to work with this bipartisan group of telehealth champions to ensure every American has access to high-quality, life-saving health care.”

“This resolution sends a strong message to the American people that Congress is serious about finding bipartisan solutions to creating a more affordable and accessible healthcare system,” said Rep. Curtis. “I look forward to building off recent successes in telehealth and ensure millions of Americans maintain access to these services, especially individuals living in rural communities that often lack healthcare options.”

“Telehealth has remained an important bipartisan issue and during Telehealth Awareness Week this support is fully acknowledged and celebrated. We are grateful to Representatives Bill Johnson (R) and Mike Thompson (D) for co-leading a Telehealth Awareness Week resolution, recognizing telehealth’s role in creating access to quality healthcare services for millions of patients during the COVID–19 public health emergency and acknowledging that telehealth continues to be essential beyond the end of the PHE,” said Kyle Zebley, senior vice president, public policy, American Telemedicine Association, and executive director, ATA Action.