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Law360 (March 20, 2020, 6:49 PM EDT) -- The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services would get an additional $50 million in emergency funds to expand telehealth services for seniors, as nursing homes work to clamp down on the spread of the novel coronavirus, under a proposal by Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn.
The former presidential candidate teamed up on Friday with Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., to introduce the bill that would provide emergency funding, as well as direct HHS to advise nursing homes on other ways they can increase their use of telehealth services.
"Protecting our seniors during this coronavirus outbreak does not have to come at the expense of their access to quality health care and maintaining ties to family and friends," Klobuchar said in a statement.
Dubbed the ACCESS Act — or Advancing Connectivity during the Coronavirus to Ensure Support for Seniors Act — the bill is aimed at helping nursing homes tackle the novel coronavirus as it proliferates across the United States.
The bill comes a week after the Trump administration ordered nursing homes across the country to close to all visitors in the hopes of keeping residents from being infected. COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, is particularly dangerous for seniors.
To combat the isolation that seniors in such nursing facilities are now facing, the bill would also greenlight grants to help nursing facilities set up "virtual visits" so that residents can video chat with friends and family who can no longer visit due to the pandemic.
At close of business on Friday, more than 17,000 cases of COVID-19 had been confirmed across the U.S., according to Johns Hopkins University.
"While we are working to combat the coronavirus pandemic, we must do everything we can to support the wellbeing of older Americans — who are the most at-risk population," Casey said in a statement.
--Editing by Nicole Bleier.
For a reprint of this article, please contact reprints@law360.com.
