Kiggans Acts to Protect Telemedicine Access for Veterans

WASHINGTON, DC: Congresswoman Jen Kiggans (VA-02) announced her cosponsorship of H.R. 9324, the Protecting Veteran Access to Telemedicine Services Act of 2024. This bipartisan legislation, which was introduced by Congressman Steve Womack (AR-03), would permanently extend a pandemic-related exemption that allows Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) healthcare providers to prescribe certain medications via telemedicine to their veteran patients.

“Those who defend our country in uniform deserve the best possible care once they return home from service,” said Congresswoman Kiggans. “For many veterans across Hampton Roads, receiving the best possible care means using telehealth to see a provider from the comfort of their own home. As the only geriatric nurse practitioner in Congress, I have seen firsthand how telehealth services have provided older adults and veterans, especially in rural areas, greater access to critical healthcare. I am proud to cosponsor this legislation to ensure the VA can continue to provide accessible health care to veterans, regardless of where they live. We owe nothing less to those who have risked their lives for our freedom.”

According to the VA’s Office of Rural Health, there are more than 2.7 million veterans in rural communities who are enrolled in and rely on the VA’s healthcare system. These veterans often do not have the same access to VA healthcare clinics as veterans in more suburban and urban areas. The Protecting Veteran Access to Telemedicine Services Act of 2024 would reduce these disparities by waiving the requirement of having one in-person medical examination, as set by the Ryan Haight Online Pharmacy Consumer Protection Act of 2008, for veterans seeking treatment from VA providers.