For more than 46 million people who live in rural areas, a growing healthcare crisis is looming as more than 600 rural hospitals across the United States stand at risk of closing. While ensuring healthcare access for these remote but critical communities has long been a challenge, the growing prevalence of telehealth in recent years has extended a necessary lifeline as access to “brick-and-mortar” care declines. 

As a nation, we have reached a critical decision point on whether we make it easier or harder for these communities to access the care they need. In Washington , a bipartisan group of lawmakers has introduced a promising proposal in the Telehealth Expansion Act of 2023. Designed to ensure access to telehealth services for those with high-deductible health plans and health savings accounts, the bill would allow employers and health plans to cover telehealth visits without requiring people to meet their deductibles. 

We have seen this flexible policy in action, and that it can be successful, thanks to provisions put in place by the CARES Act. Its expansion of telehealth has helped families maintain access to affordable, virtual care services on a pre-deductible basis throughout the pandemic. This has enabled health education and interventions typically provided in person to start at the moment they are needed, without compromising care due to fear of high costs, deductibles, or matters of convenience. 

But with this provision set to expire in 2024, more than 32 million HSA enrollees and 20% of the workforce could lose access to critical telehealth services. Cutting off this care would not only be detrimental to rural healthcare access but will drive an even greater wedge in the disparities that exist between these communities and their urban counterparts. 

Currently, patients across the country looking for a new primary care doctor wait an average of 26 days for an appointment. Even if there is an established relationship with the doctor, it can take an average of 20.6 days to see him or her in person. In rural areas, these delays can be compounded by distance, leading to possibly devastating consequences. People living in rural areas tend to be older and sicker than those in urban communities. They are less likely to have health insurance and more likely to rely on local clinics and hospitals to access their primary care. 

But as critical facilities close and healthcare deserts grow, the travel and cost required to reach the nearest “brick-and-mortar” primary care provider is not always a viable option. This can mean delayed or even foregone care, lower quality of life, and ultimately, higher mortality — leaving far too many people unevaluated, untreated, and unsupported. 

With virtual primary care, we can reduce the red tape that has plagued the healthcare industry for decades. This is especially true in the management of chronic conditions. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, roughly 60% of the U.S. population is living with at least one chronic condition. In rural areas, older adults have a higher prevalence of several chronic diseases compared to those in urban areas, including coronary heart disease, diabetes, and obesity. Further, rural people are more likely than their urban counterparts to die from all five leading causes of death: heart disease, cancer, unintentional injury, chronic lower respiratory disease, and stroke.

The “on-demand” capability of virtual care means patients can see their doctors when they need to, not just when schedules align. Direct access to medical professionals means significantly shorter wait times, reducing days or even weeks of waiting into mere hours. It removes the hurdles people face when coordinating an in-person visit, eliminating the need to request time off work, secure child care, or travel far distances. It provides real-time, comprehensive solutions for care from credentialed clinicians who provide support to reduce long-term health risks, including management of co-morbid health problems, lifestyle factors, behavioral changes, and side effects. This empowers patients to achieve better long-term outcomes with the same quality preventive care as those in urban areas.

Telehealth has demonstrated its potential to address disparities significantly in healthcare access for rural populations. But we cannot allow a lack of understanding around its capabilities to stand in the way of it becoming a true primary care option, or shutter policies that ensure its long-term viability. Instead, we must shift perceptions to demonstrate that virtual care is no longer just a stopgap. It offers what patients are expecting, and demanding, from their in-person primary care physicians: personal, undivided, and ongoing attention.

The chronic inefficiencies of our healthcare system have become so commonplace that patients have come to expect them. But whether you reside in a rural community or a major metropolitan area, it shouldn’t be hard to get healthcare. Telehealth provides a pathway to the quality care people need regardless of the constraints their location or lifestyle may pose. We must act now to protect virtual methods of care delivery.

Bobby Jindal served as governor of Louisiana from 2008-16 and a U.S. assistant secretary of health and human services from 2001-03 and serves on LifeMD's board of directors. Justin Schreiber is the CEO and chairman of LifeMD, a publicly traded telehealth company.