APA CEO and Medical Director Saul Levin, M.D., M.P.A., sent a letter on Monday to Seema Varma, the administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), commending the agency for the steps taken to reduce barriers to telehealth services for people with mental and substance use disorders during the COVID-19 pandemic and urging the agency to make permanent many of the regulatory changes that have helped expand telehealth services. “The days, weeks, and months ahead are at best uncertain and for many crippling. … As some areas of the country begin to explore what the new normal will be and are lifting shelter-in-place restrictions and allowing nonessential businesses to resume in-person operations, there will continue to be an increased need for mental and behavioral health care services,” Levin wrote.

Source: APA to CMS: Some Telehealth Changes Made During COVID-19 Should Become Permanent