Matsui, California Telehealth Network, Announce Grant to Fund Critical Telehealth Infrastructure

SACRAMENTO, CA Today, Congresswoman Doris Matsui (D-CA) and the California Telehealth Network (CTN) announced a $1 million Federal Communications Commission (FCC) grant to support COVID-19 related telehealth programs.

"The COVID-19 pandemic has fundamentally changed how patients and providers engage in health care delivery. Now more than ever, we need to meet patients where they are at - and telehealth has proven to be a critical tool in doing just that," said Congresswoman Matsui. "Telehealth can improve access to care, speed diagnosis and treatment, and limit the risk of person-to-person spread of the virus. It will open up opportunities to serve vulnerable, hard to reach patients, helping us in the mission to equalize access to care. The use of telehealth is also critical to health care providers across the state who continue to provide vital primary health care services amid this crisis."

"Thank you to Congresswoman Matsui, Chairman Pai, and the FCC for their support of the California Telehealth Network's application to the FCC COVID-19 Telehealth Program," said CTN President Kim Klupenger. "We are pleased to receive these funds from the FCC on behalf of our California network of health centers and public health departments who are on the frontlines of the pandemic response. CTN administers a statewide consortium for the FCC Healthcare Connect Fund enabling affordable and accessible broadband for providers. These additional funds will directly expand our health centers' ability to reach patients through home devices, telehealth services, and broadband capabilities in some of the hardest to reach and most complex delivery systems in the country. These funds are a perfect complement to our ongoing work to expand much-needed access in urban and rural communities across California, to help bridge the gap and address some of the social determinants surrounding inequities experienced by BIPOC communities."

The grant is part of the FCC's COVID-19 Telehealth Program, which was given $200 million in funding as part of the CARES Act. For this project, the CTN will be using the funds to purchase devices that will support the use of telehealth in urban, rural and medically underserved clinics and hospitals across California.

Congresswoman Matsui is a long-time champion of telehealth advocacy. In 2018, she introduced the "Access to Telehealth Services for Opioid Use Disorders Act" to expand behavioral health treatment via telehealth, policy that ultimately became law under the SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act. This Congress, she has authored the "Telemental Health Expansion Act" and co-leads the "CONNECT for Health Act", two bills aimed at helping further open up reimbursement for telehealth within the Medicare program. As co-chair of the bipartisan Congressional High Tech Caucus and member of the Telehealth Caucus, Congresswoman Matsui advocates for policies to expand the innovative use of technology across every sector of the economy.

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