Hudson Applauds President's Executive Order on Improving Rural Health and Telehealth Access

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Representative Richard Hudson (NC-08), a member of the Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health, released the following statement after President Donald Trump signed an executive order yesterday to improve health care in rural communities and expand telehealth services:

"Expanding access to health care for rural communities in North Carolina has remained a top priority. I thank President Trump for taking this bold action to build on our progress and improve rural health care and access to telehealth services, increasingly important during the COVID-19 pandemic," said Rep. Hudson. "Specifically, the order establishes a new payment model for rural hospitals that can lead to greater innovations and transform their ability to serve our communities. I will continue to work with President Trump and my colleagues to improve health care in our region and country."

President Trump's Executive Order instructs the Secretary of HHS to establish a new payment model to test innovative mechanisms in order to ensure that rural healthcare providers can provide adequate care in their communities. It also invests in communications and health care infrastructure, and includes a permanent extension of Medicare payments for telehealth services for medical providers.

Read more about the Executive Order here.

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