Expanded Telehealth Access Act

On February 11, 2026, Senator Daines (R-MT) introduced S.3834, the Expanded Telehealth Access Act. The bill permanently adds audiologists, physical therapists, occupational therapists, speech-language pathologists, occupational therapy assistants, and physical therapist assistants to the list of Medicare-participating practitioners who can bill for telehealth. The bill is in the earliest legislative stage — read twice and referred to the Senate Committee on Finance. It has one cosponsor. No companion bill exists in the House yet, and no committee markup or hearing has occurred. Legislative velocity is low: only two actions on the introduction date. Passage probability before the 119th Congress ends (January 2027) is low-to-moderate, but the bill represents a permanent policy shift away from the temporary PHE flexibilities that expired in 2024–2025. There is no appropriated funding in this bill — it is a regulatory expansion bill, not a spending bill. The money trail runs through Medicare Part B fee-for-service: CMS will set new telehealth reimbursement rates for the added provider types. Total additional Medicare spending is estimated by the CBO's telehealth scoring precedents at $100M–$300M over 10 years, but the primary market impact is regulatory certainty for telehealth platforms rather than a direct procurement pool. The structural winners are pure-play telehealth vendors with existing Medicare footprint and hospital-system sales channels. Teladoc ($TDOC, $6) has its Integrated Care segment that can sell directly to therapy practices; American Well ($AMWL, $6.25) can upsell existing health system clients to expand therapy telehealth. Labcorp ($LH, $259.57) and Quest Diagnostics ($DGX, $195.05) are not affected — the bill covers therapeutical services, not diagnostic testing. The recent Presidential Memorandum on Defense Production Act for energy infrastructure is irrelevant to this bill. The Executive Order on psychedelic therapies for mental health (April 18, 2026) is tangentially relevant as both touch on mental health delivery, but the bill explicitly covers physical, occupational, and speech therapy, not mental health treatment — no direct overlap. Current market data shows both telehealth pure-plays have rallied significantly over the last 30 days: $TDOC up 16.73% (from $5.14 to $6) and $AMWL up 18.37% (from $5.28 to $6.25). This move correlates with the reintroduction of bipartisan telehealth bills in early 2026, but actual passage risk remains high. The 7-day changes (+1.35% and +3.82%) are modest, suggesting the initial legislative pop has mostly been absorbed. Both stocks trade near the middle of their 52-week ranges ($TDOC: $4.40–$9.77; $AMWL: $3.71–$9.15), indicating room for upside if the bill gains committee traction. The key legislative steps remaining: committee hearing and markup in Senate Finance, floor vote, House introduction and referral, House Energy & Commerce markup, House floor vote, and presidential signature. Given the 119th Congress has only 8 months left (through December 2026), the bill needs rapid advancement to pass. A more realistic path is incorporation as a telehealth title in a larger health extenders package or year-end appropriations bill.