EASE Act of 2025 (Rural Telehealth Specialty Care CMMI Model)
Current understanding
The EASE Act of 2025 (introduced) would direct the CMS Innovation Center (CMMI) to test a demonstration model in which a nonprofit provider network delivers telehealth-based specialty care to rural Medicare, Medicaid, and CHIP beneficiaries through federally qualified health centers, rural health clinics, critical access hospitals, and rural emergency hospitals. The proposal targets specialist access gaps in rural safety-net settings without altering underlying benefit categories. Note: distinct from the separately tracked EASE Act on hospice discharge information.
Evidence log
- 2026-08-31 — Promoting Telehealth in Rural America: cross-connection with rural-health-care-program: Both address rural telehealth access—FCC funds the broadband pipe while the EASE Act model funds the specialty care delivered over it. (novelty: 3)