# 119-s-1261: CONNECT for Health Act of 2025

119-s-1261, CONNECT for Health Act of 2025, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Sen. Schatz, Brian [D-HI] (D-HI); status introduced; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-05-06).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-1261
- As of: 2026-05-06
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-s-1261
- Congress: 119
- Title: CONNECT for Health Act of 2025
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2025-04-02
- Sponsor: Sen. Schatz, Brian [D-HI] (D-HI)
- Cosponsors: 73
- Policy area: Health
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-05-06

## Summary

**Expands Medicare telehealth access** by removing location limits and updating how telehealth is paid and overseen. It would also strengthen program integrity, require provider and beneficiary supports, modernize quality measures, and publish telehealth data. - Families, seniors, and underserved patients would gain broader access because the bill removes Medicare geographic and originating-site restrictions and lifts the six-month prior in-person rule for telemental health. It explicitly expands access for Indian Health Service and tribal facilities effective January 1, 2026. - Providers and clinics would see payment and staffing changes because telehealth furnishing at Federally Qualified Health Centers and Rural Health Clinics would be folded into existing payment systems and the Secretary could waive practitioner-type limits starting October 1, 2025 with public notice and periodic review. - Oversight, quality, and transparency would increase through a new fraud and advertising framework, outlier-billing thresholds with education and public reporting, dedicated HHS Office of Inspector General telehealth oversight funding through 2030, a quality-measure review within 180 days, and CMS quarterly public reporting of telehealth use and outcomes.

## Cosponsors (73)

- Sen. Wicker, Roger F. [R-MS] (R-MS), 2025-04-02T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Warner, Mark R. [D-VA] (D-VA), 2025-04-02T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Hyde-Smith, Cindy [R-MS] (R-MS), 2025-04-02T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Welch, Peter [D-VT] (D-VT), 2025-04-02T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Barrasso, John [R-WY] (R-WY), 2025-04-02T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Padilla, Alex [D-CA] (D-CA), 2025-04-02T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Thune, John [R-SD] (R-SD), 2025-04-02T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Smith, Tina [D-MN] (D-MN), 2025-04-02T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Lankford, James [R-OK] (R-OK), 2025-04-02T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Cantwell, Maria [D-WA] (D-WA), 2025-04-02T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Tuberville, Tommy [R-AL] (R-AL), 2025-04-02T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Hickenlooper, John W. [D-CO] (D-CO), 2025-04-02T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Cotton, Tom [R-AR] (R-AR), 2025-04-02T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Klobuchar, Amy [D-MN] (D-MN), 2025-04-02T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Sullivan, Dan [R-AK] (R-AK), 2025-04-02T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Fetterman, John [D-PA] (D-PA), 2025-04-02T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Capito, Shelley Moore [R-WV] (R-WV), 2025-04-02T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Merkley, Jeff [D-OR] (D-OR), 2025-04-02T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Lummis, Cynthia M. [R-WY] (R-WY), 2025-04-02T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Kaine, Tim [D-VA] (D-VA), 2025-04-02T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Cramer, Kevin [R-ND] (R-ND), 2025-04-02T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Shaheen, Jeanne [D-NH] (D-NH), 2025-04-02T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Britt, Katie Boyd [R-AL] (R-AL), 2025-04-02T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Gallego, Ruben [D-AZ] (D-AZ), 2025-04-02T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Moran, Jerry [R-KS] (R-KS), 2025-04-02T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Luján, Ben Ray [D-NM] (D-NM), 2025-04-02T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Cassidy, Bill [R-LA] (R-LA), 2025-04-02T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Blumenthal, Richard [D-CT] (D-CT), 2025-04-02T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Tillis, Thomas [R-NC] (R-NC), 2025-04-02T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. King, Angus S., Jr. [I-ME] (I-ME), 2025-04-02T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Justice, James C. [R-WV] (R-WV), 2025-04-02T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Coons, Christopher A. [D-DE] (D-DE), 2025-04-02T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Schmitt, Eric [R-MO] (R-MO), 2025-04-02T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Whitehouse, Sheldon [D-RI] (D-RI), 2025-04-02T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Murkowski, Lisa [R-AK] (R-AK), 2025-04-02T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Rosen, Jacky [D-NV] (D-NV), 2025-04-02T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Hoeven, John [R-ND] (R-ND), 2025-04-02T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Booker, Cory A. [D-NJ] (D-NJ), 2025-04-02T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Grassley, Chuck [R-IA] (R-IA), 2025-04-02T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Duckworth, Tammy [D-IL] (D-IL), 2025-04-02T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Rounds, Mike [R-SD] (R-SD), 2025-04-02T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Sanders, Bernard [I-VT] (I-VT), 2025-04-02T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Marshall, Roger [R-KS] (R-KS), 2025-04-02T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Kelly, Mark [D-AZ] (D-AZ), 2025-04-02T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Fischer, Deb [R-NE] (R-NE), 2025-04-02T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Gillibrand, Kirsten E. [D-NY] (D-NY), 2025-04-02T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Young, Todd [R-IN] (R-IN), 2025-04-02T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Heinrich, Martin [D-NM] (D-NM), 2025-04-02T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Collins, Susan M. [R-ME] (R-ME), 2025-04-02T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Peters, Gary C. [D-MI] (D-MI), 2025-04-02T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Ricketts, Pete [R-NE] (R-NE), 2025-04-02T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Schiff, Adam B. [D-CA] (D-CA), 2025-04-02T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Mullin, Markwayne [R-OK-2] (R-OK), 2025-04-02T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Warren, Elizabeth [D-MA] (D-MA), 2025-04-02T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Graham, Lindsey [R-SC] (R-SC), 2025-04-02T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Van Hollen, Chris [D-MD] (D-MD), 2025-04-02T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Daines, Steve [R-MT] (R-MT), 2025-04-02T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Warnock, Raphael G. [D-GA] (D-GA), 2025-04-02T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Boozman, John [R-AR] (R-AR), 2025-04-02T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Bennet, Michael F. [D-CO] (D-CO), 2025-04-28T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Kennedy, John [R-LA] (R-LA), 2025-04-28T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Slotkin, Elissa [D-MI] (D-MI), 2025-05-01T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Moreno, Bernie [R-OH] (R-OH), 2025-05-01T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Kim, Andy [D-NJ] (D-NJ), 2025-09-30T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Budd, Ted [R-NC] (R-NC), 2025-09-30T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Markey, Edward J. [D-MA] (D-MA), 2025-12-09T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Banks, Jim [R-IN] (R-IN), 2025-12-09T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Cortez Masto, Catherine [D-NV] (D-NV), 2025-12-15T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Sheehy, Tim [R-MT] (R-MT), 2025-12-15T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Murray, Patty [D-WA] (D-WA), 2026-01-29T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. McConnell, Mitch [R-KY] (R-KY), 2026-01-29T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Alsobrooks, Angela D. [D-MD] (D-MD), 2026-03-12T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. McCormick, David [R-PA] (R-PA), 2026-03-12T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- Expanded Medicare telehealth access for seniors: benefit, medium. If enacted, the bill would remove Medicare geographic and originating-site limits for telehealth starting October 1, 2025. If enacted, the Secretary could waive practitioner-type limits for telehealth starting October 1, 2025 when clinically appropriate. If enacted, the bill would repeal the six-mo…
- Telehealth training, accessibility, and reporting: benefit, low. If enacted, HHS must publish resources and guidance within six months to help people with limited English use telehealth. If enacted, HHS must publish guidance and training for telehealth access for people with disabilities, including captioning and interpreter use. If enacted, the bill would autho…
- Stronger telehealth billing and fraud checks: mixed, medium. If enacted, CMS would use claims and standard health IDs to find unusual telehealth billing and notify flagged providers with comparison data. If enacted, Telehealth Resource Centers would give training and technical help to providers flagged as outliers. If enacted, providers could not give telehe…
- New payment rules for community clinics: mixed, medium. If enacted, telehealth services furnished by FQHCs and RHCs would be treated as outpatient services and paid under their prospective payment systems starting October 1, 2025. If enacted, costs for furnishing telehealth by those clinics would be considered allowable costs under the payment rules. If…

## Related bills

- 119-sres-585: A resolution honoring the life, achievements, and legacy of Ben Nighthorse Campbell.
- 119-sres-255: A resolution honoring the life, achievements, and legacy of former United States Senator Christopher "Kit" Bond of Missouri.
- 119-sres-159: A resolution honoring the life of the Honorable John Bennett Johnston, Jr., former Senator for the State of Louisiana.
- 119-sres-148: A resolution honoring the life of the Honorable Alan K. Simpson, former Senator for the State of Wyoming.
- 119-sres-755: A resolution honoring the life of the Honorable Donald W. Riegle, Jr., former Senator for the State of Michigan.
- 119-sres-739: A resolution honoring the life and legacy of John Seymour, the late Senator for the State of California.

## Sources
- [119-s-1261 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/1261)

## Related
- [119-sres-585: A resolution honoring the life, achievements, and legacy of Ben Nighthorse Camp…](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-sres-585)
- [119-sres-255: A resolution honoring the life, achievements, and legacy of former United State…](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-sres-255)
- [119-sres-159: A resolution honoring the life of the Honorable John Bennett Johnston, Jr., for…](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-sres-159)
- [119-sres-148: A resolution honoring the life of the Honorable Alan K. Simpson, former Senator…](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-sres-148)
- [119-sres-755: A resolution honoring the life of the Honorable Donald W. Riegle, Jr., former S…](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-sres-755)
- [119-sres-739: A resolution honoring the life and legacy of John Seymour, the late Senator for…](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-sres-739)
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Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-1261 (as of 2026-05-06).