By Serena Agusto-Cox and Anna Horner | News & Views
AACVPR members came to Capitol Hill on March 4 for Day on the Hill (DOTH) with a shared mission: to protect — and ultimately make permanent — patient access to high‑quality cardiopulmonary rehabilitation. Following the recent passage of the Consolidated Appropriations Act (H.R. 7148), which extends Medicare telehealth and in‑home CR/PR flexibilities through 2027, members from 26 states seized the opportunity to build on that progress. Equipped with firsthand experience, measurable patient outcomes, and success stories from their own programs, AACVPR’s members met with lawmakers eager to demonstrate the real‑world value of these flexibilities and the importance of establishing them as a lasting part of care delivery.
The members were energized and eager throughout the day, due in large part to the recent legislative victory. AACVPR President Stacey Greenway, MA, MPH, CCRP, MAACVPR, who represented North Carolina, expressed her excitement about the passage of the virtual bill, noting, “It's such a great time to be in the field of cardiopulmonary rehab because of the flexibility that it allows us to meet our patients' needs. It's just another tool in our toolkit, as we focus on increasing access. We want it to be patient-centric, and that bill allows us to do that.”
AACVPR Director-at-Large Todd Brown, MD, MSPH, FACC, FAHA, MAACVPR, making the trip to D.C. from Alabama, explained, “This was a huge win for our momentum. Previously, COVID-era flexibilities for telehealth allowed virtual delivery from physician office-based programs. These have been extended over and over since the end of the COVID public health emergency. However, these extensions did not apply to hospital-based programs. In the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2026, for the first time, virtual delivery for hospital-based programs was included alongside extensions for telehealth flexibilities for physician office-based programs. We are hoping that these two will remain linked so that further extensions will include both.”
But AACVPR members know the work doesn’t end with the temporary extension. Among the goals for their 130 legislative meetings was a push for the permanent extension of virtual in-home access to CR/PR by garnering sponsorship and support for the Sustainable Cardiopulmonary Rehabilitation Services in the Home Act (H.R. 783/S. 248) and also a push for improved reimbursement for off-campus hospital outpatient departments through the Sustaining Outpatient Services Act (SOS) (H.R. 7666/S. 3908) to expand patient access to CR/PR.
“The passage of the virtual bill gave a strong lead-in for the conversations in each congressional office. We made sure to thank the offices that signed on to the Consolidated Appropriations Act, which led to our ask to co-sponsor the permanent bill as well,” said Lorri Lee, MHA, BS, CCRP, CEP, FAACVPR, a DOTH veteran who represented Texas. “The biggest impact to access we have at this point is expanding hospital outpatient departments to off-campus locations without reimbursement penalties. This is addressed in the SOS bill; and after three congressional cycles of introducing this bill, it's time to get it passed! I emphasized to the congressional offices that while this bill seems like a small piece of the puzzle, it has a tremendous impact to improve the care and recovery of the No. 1 killer of men and women across our country: heart disease.”
Representing Tennessee, Natalie Miller, ACSM EP-C, said she was particularly glad that the temporary extension passed because it will “provide a lot of access to patients, especially where we are located.” She added, “There are a lot of rural cardiac deserts surrounding us, and we serve a lot of those areas. This legislation will help to provide a lot of access.” And permanent extension will “create opportunities to build these programs and bring more stability,” explained Miller.
AACVPR Immediate Past President David Prince, MD, who represented New York, pointed out, “We want to try to make sure that all the gains that we've accomplished are permanent. Our focus is on continuing to increase access and make sure that future patients will have the same access. In our meetings, we can point to the bill’s bipartisanship. The proposed bill will further benefit patients, families, and communities. It saves the government money. Don't take our word for it. That's why we made this progress, and we want to sustain it and secure it for the future.”
South Carolina’s Bradly Chapman, MS, MPH, ACSM-CEP, CCRP, indicated that the passage of the temporary extension will enable his facility to expand access to more patients. During his legislative meetings at DOTH, Chapman noted that everyone was supportive and was happy the temporary extension passed. “During my meeting with Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), he indicated that he continues to support the passage of a permanent extension for virtual and in-home care,” he said.
Chapman also pointed out that to garner federal support, “we also need to work within our states to get CR/PR programs to implement in-home or virtual care access, which will enable us to demonstrate the viability of these programs.” Once programs gather data on how they’ve improved patient outcomes, he explained, “We can use it to further inform our advocacy efforts to garner greater support from our senators and representatives.”
Aleshia Bloker, BSN, CCRP, of Iowa was excited going into her legislative meetings after the passage of the virtual extension because “in the past, our advocacy has focused on passing bills, and now there’s a push for permanency and building on legislative momentum.” She added that her initial meeting with Rep. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) over coffee led to an additional meeting in her office later that day.
“I think there's a lot of support for the virtual and in-home care bill specifically. With COVID, these kinds of programs have been successful, and gaining support for a permanent extension doesn’t seem as big of an uphill battle as it might have been in the past,” Bloker said.
However, as excited as members are about the virtual extension, Greenway said, “I don’t want this progress to slow our momentum or create the impression that the work is done. The recent legislative win is wonderful, but it’s not a permanent fix. We must continue our advocacy to make this extension permanent.”
Audrey Hammond, BSN, RN, CCRP, who attended meetings with Greenway as part of the North Carolina delegation, noted, “It's really exciting that people are paying attention to access to care. So, I feel like the virtual bill is a foot in the door to start the conversation.” As for how she approached her legislative meetings, she explained, “We start with excitement and gratitude, but now let's take it a step further and dig deeper into how we can really expand access to care.”
Meanwhile, Illinois’ Tanya Eikstadt, M.S. Ed, ATC, ACSM CP, CPH, EIM, CHWC, acknowledged that “there is a lot going on in the government at the moment, and it’s really challenging to focus on the little things, but those are the things that matter.” Ultimately, she said, “The energy from our AACVPR affiliates and the organization seemed the same, if not more energized to make asks that promote access and care over the long term.”
Overall, excitement was a major theme of the day, and the virtual bill’s passage lifted the mood on the Hill. “DOTH is one of my favorite days of the year,” said Greenway. “The vibe is always exciting, and being able to be part of something that's larger than ourselves is always a lot of fun. I think this year, having something actionable made it easier to have those conversations.”
Dr. Brown added, “There was a greater sense of optimism. Attendees saw a tangible benefit of prior participation and the hope that with continued advocacy, we can attain permanent change.”
Further, Lee observed, “The vibe felt more encouraging because of our recent legislative win. Cardiac and pulmonary rehab are really getting some strong focus, not just within the health care industry but on Capitol Hill as well. I was proud to, once again, advocate for these amazing services.”
The consensus among members was that they can’t take their foot off the gas now. While they celebrated the recent legislative victory, they emphasized the importance of permanent extensions and were optimistic at the conclusion of their meetings. As Iowa’s Desiree McDonough, BSN, RN, summed it up, “It was a great day to be in Washington.”