1. United States
2. Va.
3. Letter

I am a licensed clinical social worker (LCSW) based in Virginia Beach, providing 100% virtual psychotherapy to clients across the Commonwealth. Many of my Medicare patients live in rural or hard-to-reach areas where traveling for an office visit is costly, time-consuming, or simply not feasible. For them, telehealth is not a convenience—it is their only path to consistent mental health care. The CONNECT for Health Act of 2025 (H.R. 4206 / S. 1261) is urgently needed to protect this lifeline. This bipartisan legislation would: - Permanently remove outdated Medicare geographic and originating-site restrictions, so patients can receive care from home. - Eliminate the in-person visit mandate for telemental health, which disrupts treatment and places unnecessary hardship on rural and older patients. - Expand eligible practice settings to include Federally Qualified Health Centers, Rural Health Clinics, and tribal health facilities. - End the cycle of short-term policy extensions that create instability for patients and providers alike. Without this legislation, many of my Medicare patients will be forced to give up treatment because they cannot realistically comply with in-person requirements. Passage of the CONNECT for Health Act would ensure they can continue receiving the care they depend on. I urge you to support and advance this bill to guarantee that Medicare beneficiaries in Virginia and across the nation can maintain access to essential telehealth services.