Updates on Federal Legislation Related to Primary Care

Telehealth
 
Bills related to telehealth continue to be introduced in both houses of Congress. The Alliance for Connected Care has a comprehensive list of bills and summaries.
 
Expansion of Teaching Health Centers
 
Noting that “we need more primary care physicians—that was true before this pandemic and its truer than ever now,” Senate HELP Committee Chair Patty Murray (D-Wash.) joined House Energy and Commerce Chair Frank Pallone (D-N.J.) in introducing new legislation to permanently authorize and expand the Teaching Health Centers Graduate Medical Education program. The bill, the Doctors of Community Act, would expand funding to support 100 new programs and 1,600 new residency slots, which would be filled primarily by residents in primary care.
 
E&C Hearing: Empowered by Data: Legislation to Advance Equity and Public Health
 
On June 24, the House Energy & Commerce Committee held a hearing on strategies for digitizing the nation’s public health data systems, insuring interoperability and collection of meaningful, actionable data to support addressing social determinants of health and health equity. Committee members have introduced a series of bills to address these goals. Funding an interoperable public health data system is foundational to successful models of comprehensive primary care.