IT SHOULD HAVE ENDED ALREADY: Here’s what will happen when the COVID-19 public health emergency ends. “Some telehealth flexibilities that were granted under the public health emergency will draw to a close. It will end a practice that allowed people to be prescribed a controlled substance through telehealth without an in-person doctor’s visit unless the federal government takes steps to make the changes permanent. Congress has already approved a two-year extension to enable Medicare to continue to reimburse for telehealth services, which was put in place through the emergency declaration and had grown popular throughout the pandemic.”

They should make the telehealth exceptions permanent.