WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Roger Wicker, R-Miss., today spoke in support of legislation to advance telehealth by creating opportunities for primary care clinicians to receive high-quality specialty training remotely. The bipartisan “ECHO Act,” S.2873, is authored by Senators Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, and Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii. The proposal, which passed the Senate by a vote of 97-0, would help patients in remote areas – such as rural Mississippi – gain better access to primary care.

Wicker went on to highlight his “CONNECT for Health Act,” which he introduced earlier this year with Sen. Schatz. The CONNECT bill would help with payment parity for telehealth services under the Medicare program. It would also allow for coverage of certain remote patient monitoring services – a model used by the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson to expand access, improve quality, and reduce hospital admissions for some of Mississippi’s most underserved populations.