A bill that would allow healthcare providers to use telehealth to treat any person in any state all through the coronavirus pandemic has been re-introduced by lawmakers.

The Temporary Reciprocity to Ensure Access to Treatment (TREAT) Act was filed in the House and Senate, which aims at allowing providers to bypass state and federal licensing requirements through the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE).

Telehealth has made it easier for Americans to get medical care, without leaving their homes in the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic says Rep. Bob Latta (R-OH), who re-filed the bill with Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-MI).

The TREAT Act will eliminate bureaucratic hurdles that restrict access to healthcare without taking away any of the safeguards patients should expect. This bill is widely supported by the medical community and is a way to support their work that is critical during the PHE, said Senator Chris Murphy, D-CT), who re-filed the bill with Sen. Ropy Blunt (R-MO).

The TREAT Act would:

• Let providers licensed in good standing to treat patients in any state during the PHE without facing penalties or jeopardizing the state licensure.

• Require providers to get oral or written acknowledgment of services.

• Require them to notify the local or state licensing board within 30 days of first practicing in any other state.

• Prevent them from extending any service that is prohibited by a state where the patient is located and require to adhere to specified prescribing requirements of the state.

• Allow states to investigate and take disciplinary actions that include the ability to exclude a clinician to practice in the state under this bill.

• Not restricted to providers licensed under a compact agreement or licensed in the state where the patient resides and

• Remain in effect all through the PHE, which will be followed by a 180-day phase-out period.