[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 368 Agreed to Senate (ATS)]

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118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. RES. 368

    Supporting the designation of the week of September 17 through 
         September 23, 2023, as ``Telehealth Awareness Week''.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

           September 26 (legislative day, September 22), 2023

Mr. Schatz (for himself, Mr. Wicker, Mr. Cardin, Mr. Thune, Mr. Warner, 
  and Mrs. Hyde-Smith) submitted the following resolution; which was 
                        considered and agreed to

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
    Supporting the designation of the week of September 17 through 
         September 23, 2023, as ``Telehealth Awareness Week''.

Whereas telehealth allows a health care practitioner to furnish health care to a 
        patient or a practitioner at a different physical location than the 
        health care practitioner;
Whereas telehealth played a significant role in supporting access to quality 
        health care for millions of patients during the COVID-19 public health 
        emergency and continues to be important beyond the end of the public 
        health emergency;
Whereas Medicare beneficiaries used 88 times more telehealth services during the 
        first year of the COVID-19 pandemic than they did in the prior year;
Whereas more than 8,000,000 unique Medicare beneficiaries received at least 1 
        telehealth service in 2022;
Whereas, in 2022, over 90 percent of Medicare beneficiaries who received a 
        telehealth service were satisfied with their experience;
Whereas, in 2022, telehealth was a routine health care modality with 15 percent 
        of Medicare beneficiaries using telehealth in the last quarter of the 
        calendar year;
Whereas, following the unprecedented use of telehealth services in response to 
        the public health emergency, telehealth now represents a critical 
        component of health care delivery;
Whereas legislative efforts to increase telehealth access have received 
        bipartisan support in the Senate and the House of Representatives;
Whereas the United States has an opportunity to help improve access to health 
        care for all individuals, including members of rural and underserved 
        communities; and
Whereas ``Telehealth Awareness Week'' unites the efforts of patients, 
        caregivers, health care providers, policymakers, and other stakeholders 
        to advance the role of telehealth in health care: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) designates the week of September 17 through September 
        23, 2023, as ``Telehealth Awareness Week'';
            (2) recognizes the impact of telehealth in delivering 
        health care for patients across the United States; and
            (3) urges that steps should be taken to--
                    (A) raise awareness about the benefits of 
                telehealth;
                    (B) highlight resources for health care providers 
                and patients regarding telehealth;
                    (C) collect and analyze data on the impacts of 
                telehealth; and
                    (D) promote continued access to telehealth for all 
                communities and across settings.
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