The House Energy and Commerce Committee held a hearing this month to discuss extending pandemic-era policies that expanded access to telehealth under Medicare. Without urgent action by lawmakers, these telehealth flexibilities will expire at the end of the year. 

That’s an outcome few should welcome. Telehealth has proved enormously valuable to older Americans, particularly those living in rural areas. Medicare beneficiaries should have unfettered access to remote care permanently.

Before the pandemic, a host of rules made it difficult for seniors to seek — and physicians to deliver — treatment remotely, whether through a video consultation or an audio phone call. 

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