May 13, 2021

As we discussed this morning, the NYS Council recently issued a Memo in Support for the telehealth bills we believe have the greatest likelihood of success during the legislative session.    Senator Gustavo Rivera’s office welcomes Memos of Support for his version of the bill (S.5505) from providers and other groups that can add support for the bill that is now on the Senate floor awaiting a vote by the full house.  To the extent that your Memo of Support can include data you have collected re: important advances in access to and continuity of care thanks to telehealth, and/or client satisfaction data, we encourage you to do your own Memo and send it to us.  Use our Memo as a boilerplate.  We will compile and send to the Senator’s Office as a package of Memos of Support.

On the Assembly side, Assemblywoman Woerner (sponsor of the Assembly version of the bill, A6256) is looking for articles and other research that will help her debunk the misinformation that has been floated regarding the ‘risks of telehealth’, its’ ‘limited effectiveness’, and the possibility that Doc In A Box for profit companies will take over here in NY.  Of course the only way to ensure against these things happening is to ensure that highly regulated providers are reimbursed fairly and can continue to provide these services to New Yorkers in need.

If you have seen research/articles/compelling arguments that are pro-telehealth please share them with me at your earliest convenience!

THANK YOU!