House Passes Womack’s Legislation to Protect Veteran Access to Telemedicine Services

WASHINGTON, D.C. - September 15, 2025… The U.S. House of Representatives today passed the Protecting Veteran Access to Telemedicine Services Act of 2025, legislation introduced by Congressman Steve Womack's (AR-3).

Congressman Womack said, "With the House's passage of this legislation, we are one step closer to maintaining access for our veterans to life-saving medication. Our nation's veterans have made countless sacrifices in defense of our country and should not face unnecessary roadblocks when seeking healthcare.

Congressman Womack continued, "As this Administration works to improve the speed, accessibility, and efficiency of our national veteran care, this bill will make a positive impact on our service members and their families. I'm proud that my colleagues in the House recognize the urgency and importance of this issue and have taken decisive action to address it. I now urge our partners in the Senate to take up this cause and send it to the President's desk."

This bill would permanently authorize a temporary exemption that allows healthcare professionals employed by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to prescribe medically necessary controlled substances to veterans via telemedicine under certain conditions regardless of whether that healthcare professional has conducted an in-person medical examination.

Background:

• The Ryan Haight Online Pharmacy Consumer Protection Act of 2008 was enacted on April 13, 2009. This bill was designed to combat the rogue internet pharmacies that proliferated in the late 90s, selling controlled substances online.
• Under this Act, a practitioner is required to have conducted at least one in-person medical evaluation of the patient, in the physical presence of the practitioner, before issuing a prescription for a controlled substance.
• During the COVID-19 pandemic, requirements under the Ryan Haight Act for a patient to meet with a practitioner in-person for the prescription of a controlled substance were temporarily waived.
• On November 19, 2024, the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) and Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced the continuation of temporary extension of flexibilities around telemedicine prescribing of controlled substances from the COVID-19 public health emergency through December 31, 2025.

Impact on Veterans:

• Telehealth improves healthcare accessibility, convenience, and efficiency by enabling remote consultations, reducing the need for travel, and facilitating timely medical intervention.
• Due to lack of immediate access to VA clinics, more than 2.7 million veterans residing in rural areas have particular difficulty conducting the one in-person visit with their health care provider that is required under the Ryan Haight Act.
• Veterans residing in rural areas do not have the same access to VA healthcare as those in more suburban and urban areas, which can result in poor long-term health outcomes.
• If the current exemption expires at the end of the year, veteran access to certain necessary medications classified as a controlled substance will be severely restricted.

A summary of the bill is available HERE.

The bill text is available HERE.