Last week the Protect Telehealth Access Act was introduced in the House of Representatives, marking the 22nd piece of pro-telemedicine legislation proposed since March 2020. Earlier in June, a bi-partisan group of 30 senators called for the permanent expansion of Medicare covered telehealth services, writing “Americans have benefited significantly from this expansion of telehealth and have come to rely on its availability” in a letter to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY). Momentum is building, policymakers are primed to listen, and the time to make our voices heard is now. “Telemedicine provides an invaluable service to movement disorder patients, and we should not let this opportunity go to waste,” says PMD Alliance physician advisor Maria Cristina Ospina, MD.
As a member of the Unified Parkinson’s Advocacy Council and the Movement Disorders Policy Coalition, PMD Alliance is actively advocating for telehealth on an organizational level, and we have gathered some easy ways for you to advocate on an individual level.
The American Academy of Neurologists has a pre-written letter in support of the Health Care at Home Act of 2020. Enter your address information and their advocacy platform drafts and sends letters to your representatives with a click. You do not need to be an AAN member or physician to use this.
Michael J. Fox Foundation’s website has a tool to help you find and compose custom messages to your elected officials. Make it personal, keep it simple, and tell them how telemedicine has impacted living with Parkinson’s for you or your loved one.
If you prefer to make a phone call or mail a letter, use this resource from www.usa.gov to find the contact information for all your elected officials.
We have little control over the daily events around us , BUT
We have TOTAL control over our responses to those events!! 💜💜