US lawmakers introduce bipartisan bill to increase children’s telehealth access
US Representatives Lisa Blunt Rochester and Dr. Michael C. Burgess introduced a bipartisan bill to increase children’s access to telehealth. The Telehealth Improvement for Kids’ Essential Services (TIKES) Act of 2020, if passed, would require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to issue guidance to states about how they can improve accessibility of telehealth under Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program. The legislature would also mandate a study on the impact of telehealth on access to healthcare, utilisation, cost, and outcomes. Pediatric health systems in the USA welcomed the bill and said that it will create an opportunity for the federal government to give more clarity to states regarding telehealth expansion.