Sen Hassan (D-NH) Leads Colleagues in Urging FCC to Maintain Focus on Maternal Health in Telehealth Pilot Program

Sen Maggie Hassan (D-NH) led a group of her colleagues from the Commerce Committee in urging Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai to maintain focus on maternal health as the Commission moves forward with its proposed Connected Care pilot program. This pilot would support access to care using telehealth. The letter comes after the FCC released a Notice of Inquiry (NOI) on supporting access to health care through telehealth in the Connected Care pilot program. “Telehealth can potentially offer critical and cost-effective solutions to pregnant women, as some of the most common pregnancy-related complications can be avoided with routine monitoring and medical care,” the Sens wrote. “As the FCC moves forward with this pilot program, we request that you maintain the focus on maternal health in the NOI. We also encourage you to work with the Department of Health and Human Services to identify best practices for positive outcomes for mothers and babies by using safe, effective telehealth applications and devices in the Connected Care pilot program.”  The Senators emphasized the importance of telehealth to rural and low-income communities across the country and reaffirmed their commitment to ensuring that such communities have access to the care they need. Also sigining the letter were Sens Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), and Maria Cantwell (D-WA).