The Buckeye Institute: Making Telehealth Permanent Will Increase Access to Care

The Buckeye Institute recently testified before the Ohio Senate Health Committee on the policies in House Bill 122, which would permanently expand access to telehealth for all Ohioans.  

In his testimony, Greg R. Lawson, research fellow at The Buckeye Institute, “applauded the regulatory changes adopted by the Trump and DeWine administrations that increased access to telehealth care,” and noted that making access to telehealth services permanent will “help Ohio citizens—especially those living in rural areas—access more health care services and specialists.” 

Highlighting Buckeye’s own research, as well as others (here and here), Lawson reminded lawmakers of “telehealth’s potential to improve access to care, lower costs, and increase flexibility for patients and providers,” and urged them to “continue looking for ways to expand telehealth access without hobbling its potential to improve outcomes, lower costs, and promote future innovations.” 

With Ohio’s current emergency COVID-19 rules on telehealth access set to expire on December 31, 2021, many Ohioans are at risk of losing access to this vital service unless lawmakers act and give all Ohioans “equal telehealth access to their health care providers.”

Source: The Buckeye Institute