#telehealth

Without Congressional action, current Telehealth flexibilities will expire Sept. 30, 2025.

In 2024, US Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) helped secure more than $6 billion in federal funding for Hawai‘i as he led efforts to deliver resources to support Maui’s recovery from last year’s fires and advance a range of other priorities for the state.

US Congressman Ed Case reported that the Fiscal Year 2025 Military Construction, Veterans Affairs and Related Agencies Appropriations bill, approved today by the US House Committee on Appropriations, includes more than $1.55 billion in military construction projects for Hawai‘i, the most of any state.

The lawmakers underscored an urgent need to act on making pandemic-era telehealth flexibilities permanent for Medicare beneficiaries.

AARP Hawai‘i and the Hawai‘i Public Health Institute created the Kūpuna Digital Resource Directory as part of a larger effort to bridge the digital divide and help more kūpuna go online.

Hawaiian Telcom has completed its fiber expansion throughout the island of Lāna‘i, marking another step towards closing the state’s digital divide. Lāna‘i residents and businesses island-wide now have access to Hawaiian Telcom’s high-speed internet Fioptics.

“As a state, we need to be compassionate and focus on harm reduction,” said Governor Green of SB671. “It is important to legalize fentanyl test strips, because fentanyl is 80 times more powerful than morphine, and it’s being laced into other drugs and people are dying. If we can save lives, we should.”

Sen. Schatz joins others in a bipartisan effort to reintroduce the CONNECT for Health Act, a comprehensive bill aimed at expanding Medicare coverage for telehealth services, ensuring permanent telehealth flexibilities post-COVID-19, and enhancing healthcare access and outcomes for patients across the country.

The computer workshops for novices covered the different types of devices and operating systems; use of keys, the mouse and touchpads; email; telehealth and more.

Kaiser Permanente has donated $143,000 to expand telehealth services for four safety net organizations in Hawaiʻi, including Community Clinic of Maui.

The senators are calling for $2 billion in additional funding to the Rural Health Care Program, the only federal program that supports broadband deployment at urban and rural health care provider locations.

The health hotline and telehealth visits do not replace a student’s primary care provider but provide families with an alternative way to access health services while supporting social distancing.

The Trump Administration today announced expanded Medicare telehealth coverage that will enable Medicare beneficiaries to receive a wider range of healthcare services from their doctors without having to travel to a healthcare facility.

President Donald Trump began by noting that last night, the FDA announced new policies to further increase testing for COVID-19.  All states can now authorize tests developed and used within their borders in addition to the FDA.  

Today, the Lāna’i Community Health Center named its newest pediatrician, Dr. Jeesun Nam.

Sen. Brian Schatz introduced a bill on Wednesday in an effort to “improve health outcomes, make it easier for patients to connect with their doctors, and help cut costs for patients and providers.” 

“Especially in rural areas, USF programs have been key to redefining access to services and ensuring that the most vulnerable Americans have the tools and bandwidth necessary to communicate with one another, receive telehealth services, and engage in teaching and learning online,” the senators wrote.

The proposal would expand virtual care visits. Sen. Schatz said this will help people stay healthy, lower costs and make the health care system more convenient.

Backers of the bill say the CHRONIC Care Act “lifts outdated restrictions that limit Medicare from reimbursing for telehealth.”

The workshop was part of Sen. Schatz’s efforts to promote the adoption and expansion of telehealth technology nationwide, and to highlight his upcoming legislation regarding reimbursement for telehealth services in Medicare.