EASE Act
Key claim: The EASE Act requires CMMI to test a telehealth-enabled specialty care model delivered by nonprofit networks of rural providers (FQHCs, RHCs, critical access hospitals, rural emergency hospitals) to Medicare, Medicaid, and CHIP beneficiaries in rural areas.
Abstract
(S1248 · 119th Congress) Ensuring Access to Specialty Care Everywhere Act or the EASE Act This bill requires the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) to test a model that uses a network of providers to remotely furnish specialty health care to Medicare, Medicaid, and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) beneficiaries in rural areas. To conduct the model, the CMMI must select at least one provider network that is a nonprofit entity and that consists of at least 50 federally qualified health centers, rural health clinics, critical access hospitals, or rural emergency hospitals. At least half of the providers in the network must be located in rural areas. Providers must use digital methods (e.g., telehealth technology) to provide specialty care and must coordinate with beneficiaries’ primary care providers. Latest action (2025-04-02): Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
Why this matters
The EASE Act would create a CMMI-tested pathway for rural Medicare, Medicaid, and CHIP beneficiaries to access specialty care via telehealth through nonprofit networks anchored by safety-net providers, potentially altering how rural specialty access is financed and organized. If enacted and tested, it would channel new payment flows to FQHCs, RHCs, CAHs, and rural emergency hospitals for coordinating remote specialty consultations. The model sits at the intersection of ongoing debates over permanent telehealth flexibilities and rural hospital sustainability.