Eric Small, 2025-26 ASCO President, shared a post on LinkedIn:
“Now that the government shutdown is over… it’s time to get some important legislature passed!
The ability to provide patient care through Telehealth was up in the air during the shutdown. On November 12, Congress passed, and the President signed, a continuing resolution (CR) to fund the federal government through January 30, 2026. The bill reinstates telehealth flexibilities in Medicare ….. but only until January 30!!!
Hopefully the importance of Telehealth is self-evident! Expanded telehealth utilization has helped ensure patients with cancer have uninterrupted access to high-quality care. The increased use of telehealth, when appropriate, has also helped providers reach all patient populations, including rural populations and those that might find it prohibitive to take off work, find childcare, and arrange transportation for an in-person visit.
ASCO urges Congress to pass legislation that will make telehealth flexibilities Permanent, ensuring patient access to necessary care. ASCO has endorsed the bicameral, bipartisan Creating Opportunities Now for Necessary and Effective Care Technologies (CONNECT) for Health Act of 2025 (H.R 4206/S. 1261), legislation that seeks to permanently extend telehealth flexibilities for Medicare services.
We need Congress to extend these telehealth flexibilities as soon as possible! If you are a US citizen, please contact your lawmakers and urge them to support permanent extension of Medicare telehealth flexibilities.
You can do so at ASCO’s ACT network (but you do not need to be an ASCO member to use the network!) This tool will help you send letters to your lawmakers on the issues you wish to address.
Please send a note now. This truly is a bipartisan issue that can affect all of our patients.”
You can also read: Oncologist Near Me – Eric Small: Prominent Prostate Cancer Specialist
