Senator Tom Udall (D-NM) has introduced S. 2741, the Rural Telemedicine Enhancing Community Health (TECH) Act. The bill would require the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to conduct a pilot project to evaluate the effectiveness of using telehealth rehabilitation, including speech-language pathology services, for treating conditions associated with strokes for individuals residing in medically underserved and tribal areas.

Please send a message to your Senator today asking for their support and co-sponsorship of this legislation.

Upon completion of the pilot, CMS would be required to submit a report to Congress describing the outcomes of the project and making recommendations to expand telehealth services. Currently Medicare does not reimburse for speech-language pathology services when provided via telepractice.

Please contact your Senators today and ask them to co-sponsor S. 2741. For further information or questions regarding this legislation, please contact Ingrida Lusis, ASHA's Director of Federal and Political Advocacy, at ilusis@asha.org or by phone at 202-624-5951.