This Week’s ATA Brief: TAW, NC’s Virtual Nursing Debut, New Data + More

For leaders making digital integral to how care is accessed, delivered, and scaled.

Dear ATA Community,

Telehealth Awareness Week is coming up—September 14–20, 2025—and it couldn’t be more timely. With big policy decisions on the horizon, it’s a great moment to shine a light on how telehealth and digital health are playing a bigger role than ever in everyday care.

Throughout the week, we’ll be sharing real stories from patients, best practices from providers, and insights from innovators across the country. Expect dynamic events hosted by thought leaders and front-line clinicians from across the industry—covering everything from hybrid care models and digital therapeutics to AI, remote monitoring, Virtual Foodcare, and more.

The full schedule and registration links are on the way, but in the meantime, help us spread the word! Download our TAW Social Media Toolkit and join us in celebrating how virtual care is improving access, outcomes, and experiences for all.

Shannon Callaway
Senior Advisor, ATA

Intermountain Health - David Guidry, MD

Expanding Access to Care Through Telemedicine with Dr. David Guidry

From med school rugby to leading telehealth innovation, Dr. David Guidry shares his journey into physician leadership and the rise of tele-ICU care at Intermountain Health. In this episode of The Interesting MD Podcast, he joins host Rob Beck to discuss how telemedicine is transforming rural critical care—boosting local provider confidence, improving patient outcomes, and keeping care close to home. Listen Here »

Atrium Health

Atrium’s Virtual Nursing 1st Set To Bring 50 Jobs to Rural Hospital

Atrium Health Stanly is launching North Carolina’s first rural virtual nursing program, backed by a $1.45M grant. The initiative will support bedside care, improve outcomes, and bring 50 new jobs to the Albemarle community. Read More »

An Episode-Based Cost Analysis of Virtual-First Versus In-Person-First Care for Common Acute Conditions in a Large U.S. Health Plan

Funded by ATA Member, CVS Health

Key Finding:

Virtual‑first care episodes resolved acute conditions at 9–33% lower cost compared to in‑person‑first care, across both Medicare Advantage and commercial fully‑insured cohorts.

Summary:
A retrospective study of over 455,000 acute care episodes found that virtual‑first care resolved conditions at 9–33% lower cost than in‑person‑first care across most conditions. The findings suggest virtual‑first care can be a cost-effective alternative for managing common acute issues in both Medicare Advantage and commercial populations.

Read Study »

Apply to Join a Closed-Door Strategy Lab Driving Inpatient Transformation
ATA Insights Summit | November 16–18 |  Orlando, FL. 

This isn’t your typical event. ATA’s Strategy Labs are exclusive, closed-door working sessions designed for senior clinical, operational, and digital health leaders who are ready to solve real challenges—together.

No presentations. No lectures. Just peer-to-peer collaboration, guided by experts from ATA’s Center for Digital Excellence (CODE) with real, actionable outputs you can take back to your health system.

We’d love to have your voice at the table. Submit your application to attend.

Speaker & Research Submissions Now Open for NEXUS

Apply to Speak at NEXUS 

The infrastructure is built. The teams are ready. Now it’s your turn. NEXUS 2026 is where healthcare leaders flip the switch on digital-native care—and we want your activation story. Share bold ideas, proven results, and real-world lessons driving transformation now.

Turn Evidence Into Impact: Submit Your Research

Got data and evidence that drive real-world impact? Share your findings, showcase what’s working, and help shape the next wave of evidence-based transformation in digital health and care delivery.

Upcoming SIG Meetings

• Telemental Health SIG Meeting

   Wednesday, August 6

   1:00 PM ET

• Ocular Telehealth SIG Meeting

   Thursday, August 7

   12:00 PM ET

• DTx Product Commercialization and Reimbursement SIG Meeting

   Tuesday, August 12

   12:00 PM ET

• Digital Health Research SIG Meeting

   Wednesday, August 13

   12:00 PM ET

• Telehealth Technology SIG Meeting

   Thursday, August 14

   1:00 PM ET

• Acute and Critical Care SIG Meeting

   Wednesday, August 20

   12:00 PM ET

Throughout the week, we’ll be sharing real stories from patients, best practices from providers, and insights from innovators across the country. Full event details and registration links are coming soon. In the meantime, help us build momentum by spreading the word—download and share assets from our TAW Social Media Toolkit.

Planning an Event for Telehealth Awareness Week?

We want to highlight it! Share your event title, date, time, and link with us at bcadillo@americantelemed.org, and we’ll include it in our official Telehealth Awareness Week event lineup.

Medicare Stakeholder Letter Urging Congress To Act

As many of you know, the Medicare telehealth flexibilities are set to expire September 30, 2025. We urge your organization to join us and sign this letter to Congressional Leadership calling for action on ensuring Medicare beneficiaries are able to access telehealth services after September 2025. While we strongly support making Medicare telehealth access permanent, if that's not achievable at this time, we urge Congress to approve the longest possible extension – at minimum, a two-year extension is needed to ensure stability for patients, providers, and health care system as a whole. Deadline to sign on is EOD August 8, 2025.

Acute Hospital Care at Home Program Stakeholder Letter

A stakeholder letter is currently circulating, urging Congressional Leaders to ensure the long-term continuation of the Acute Hospital Care at Home (AHCaH) waiver program by including a full five-year extension in the September government funding package. The bipartisan, bicameral Hospital Inpatient Services Modernization Act proposed this timeframe to give health systems the stability and confidence to invest in and scale hospital-at-home programs. Help us protect and expand access to this transformative model of care. Please sign this letter by COB August 8, 2025.

Medicare 2026 Physician Fee Schedule: Send Us Your Comments

The CY2026 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (PFS) proposed rule includes a number of positive provisions addressing ATA Action’s top priorities, including updates to the Medicare Diabetes Prevention Program (MDPP), expansion of digital mental health treatment (DMHT) codes to include digital therapeutics for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), and additional payment codes for remote monitoring. However, the proposed rule does not address a temporary COVID-era provision that allows providers to report their affiliated practice address rather than their home address on Medicare billing and enrollment forms, a significant issue for many of our members. 

ATA Action is preparing a comprehensive comment letter with our feedback and recommendations, due September 12. Please email Alexis Apple (aapple@ataaction.org) if you have anything specific you’d like us to comment on. 

In addition, we are drafting a comment letter responding to proposed rules in the PFS relevant to the delivery of virtual care, including home health, durable medical equipment prosthetics, orthotics, and supplies (DMEPOS), outpatient services, and ambulatory surgical center services. Please contact Alexis Apple (aapple@ataaction.org) or Lara Compton (lcompton@ataaction.org) with your input by September 2.  

For more information on the 2026 PFS, read our press release here. 

Congressional Updates

Last week, before the Senate went out on recess, ATA Action had a number of meetings with the offices of Senators Elizabeth Warren, Jeanne Shaheen, Angus King, Alex Padilla, and Brian Schatz. At each meeting, Congressional staffers stressed the importance of maintaining the telehealth flexibilities after September.

We’re hearing that the most likely scenario will be a short-term continuing resolution (CR) that would fund the government and include provisions to extend access to telehealth. The staff we spoke with indicated they all want to avoid a government shutdown and expressed their commitment to extending telehealth services for Medicare beneficiaries past the September 30 deadline.

States Continue To Consider Legislation To Expand Access to Virtual Foodcare

This week saw the introduction of Bill H. 4340 in Massachusetts, "An Act Relative to Telehealth Parity for Nutrition Counseling." This further emphasizes the momentum for virtual foodcare in the Old Bay State with the previously introduced Bill H. 1288 passing the Joint Committee on Financial Services with H. 4340.

New Jersey also recently saw the introduction of legislation in this space, A 5934, Assembly companion to S 4598, which would establish the Food is Medicine NJ Pilot Program and appropriate $5,000,000. 

November 16-18, 2025 | Orlando, FL
ATA Insights Summit
This ATA Insights Summit brings together healthcare executives to co-create implementation frameworks, operational tools, and strategic blueprints for digital transformation. Each focus area is shaped by collaborative sessions with clinical, operational, and digital leaders. Learn More and Apply »

December 10-12, 2025 | Washington, DC
ATA EDGE Policy Conference
The place where digital policy meets care model transformation.
Shape care reimbursement, licensing, and workforce policy, alongside the systems and stakeholders defining what comes next. Learn More »

Save the Date: May 12-15, 2026 | Orlando, FL
NEXUS 2026
The premier event dedicated to advancing innovation in digital health and care delivery. Bringing together experts, clinicians, C-suite leaders, researchers and investors, Nexus fosters collaboration, explores innovation, and provides tools to drive meaningful change.