This year Congress extended the Acute Hospital Care at Home waiver for five years and Medicare telehealth flexibilities through 2027. But ATA Action, the policy and legislative advocacy arm of the American Telemedicine Association, wants more. Its representatives were on Capitol Hill June 10 to push for federal policies that support permanent access to telehealth and digital health tools and encourage innovation in technology-enabled care.

ATA Action’s top federal policy priorities for 2026:
• Make permanent Medicare telehealth flexibilities and the Acute Hospital Care at Home program;
• Permanently allow providers to prescribe controlled substances via telehealth;
• Enact policies that preserve and expand a responsible direct-to-patient model, including regulatory clarity, coverage parity, and cross-state licensing;
• Pass the Federal Virtual Foodcare Act, legislation that would integrate evidence-based nutrition care into healthcare through telehealth and digital health platforms;
• Support legislation to establish a benefit category for prescription digital therapeutics (PDTs) under Medicare and Medicaid, and ensure that PDTs are regulated, reimbursed, and trusted on terms appropriate to their role in care; and
• Publish updated guidance for the FDA’s 2023 draft regulatory framework for the use of Prescription Drug Use Related Software (PDURS) to encourage innovative submissions that pair health technologies with clinically proven medicines.

"ATA Action members are coming to Capitol Hill with a clear message: the time to act is now. In 2026, we're advancing a comprehensive agenda — from making Medicare telehealth flexibilities permanent and protecting controlled substance prescribing via telehealth, to establishing a reimbursement pathway for prescription digital therapeutics and enacting the Federal Virtual Foodcare Act. We are encouraged by the leadership of the Trump Administration and bipartisan champions in Congress, who share our commitment to modernizing care delivery, expanding access, and supporting responsible innovation. These are not emerging issues; they are urgent opportunities with real bipartisan momentum,” said Kyle Zebley, CEO of the ATA and executive director of ATA Action, in a statement. “We look forward to deepening those partnerships and ensuring policymakers hear directly from the clinicians and innovators delivering care on the front lines. Healthcare should meet Americans where they are — and we won't stop until it does.”

Also this week, the ATA announced that Joe Nye has joined the organization as vice president, public policy, and head of federal government relations at ATA Action. Nye has more than a decade of experience at the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, where he worked across administrations of both parties on regulatory policy issues, including telemedicine, drug control and development, cybersecurity, agency guidance, and federal rulemaking. Most recently, he served at Hims & Hers, where he worked on digital health, AI in healthcare, telehealth, pharmacy, and broader regulatory and policy strategy.