New Proposal Would Allow Standalone Telehealth Services for All Employees

With the end of the public health emergency fast approaching, a group of lawmakers has introduced a bipartisan proposal to make the COVID-19 provisions allowing for telehealth services to be treated as excepted benefits. The current policy eliminates the need for compliance with certain Affordable Care Act (ACA) mandates, including the first-dollar coverage rules for preventative care services. The proposal would allow employers to offer excepted-benefit stand-alone telehealth benefits to all employees, including those who are eligible for benefits but have opted out, not merely ineligible employees. Currently, only the rules that allow HDHPs to provide telehealth services without jeopardizing their HSA-eligibility have been extended. For more information on the provision of remote health services, visit Tax Facts Online. : Q 8828.