# The ACCESS Act: Helping Nursing Homes Connect Residents with Family During COVID-19

This bill is designed to help nursing homes and skilled nursing facilities set up video calling technology so residents can stay connected with their families during the COVID-19 pandemic. The core idea is straightforward: when nursing homes had to restrict in-person visits to prevent disease spread, many residents became isolated. This bill provides money and support to get the technology in place so residents can see and talk to loved ones remotely.

The bill allocates $50 million to a federal telehealth resource center that will help nursing facilities overcome the technical and legal obstacles to setting up virtual visits. It also allows the government to give grants directly to individual nursing homes and skilled nursing facilities to purchase the equipment and technology they need—things like tablets, computers, cameras, and video conferencing software. The facilities can also use grant money to pay staff to help residents learn how to use the technology and to assist with setting up the calls. Importantly, the government will coordinate with the Federal Communications Commission to make sure facilities have the internet and broadband connections necessary to actually make these video calls work.

The bill requires the government to issue guidance within 15 days explaining how facilities should make sure residents actually know about and can access this virtual visiting option. This guidance addresses practical concerns like how to notify residents, how to provide support to those who need help using the technology, and how to handle device installation. The grants are temporary—they only apply during the COVID-19 public health emergency period—and facilities must use this new money to add to their existing resources, not replace funding they already have. After the emergency ends, the government must report to Congress on how the program worked.

ACCESS Act

Schakowsky, Janice D.

Advancing Connectivity during the Coronavirus to Ensure Support for Seniors Act or the ACCESS Act This bill provides funding to increase access to telehealth services and virtual visits in skilled and other nursing facilities during the COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) emergency. The bill designates the funding as emergency spending, which is exempt from discretionary spending limits. Specifically, the bill provides additional funding for FY2021, to remain available through FY2022, to the Telehealth Resource Center Program to address barriers to telehealth faced by skilled and other nursing facilities. The Office for the Advancement of Telehealth within the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy in the Health Resources and Services Administration manages this program. In addition, the bill provides funding for FY2021, to remain available through one month after the emergency period ends, to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) for grants to nursing facilities to support virtual visits for residents during the COVID-19 emergency. HHS must develop relevant guidance for these grants within 15 days. HHS must also coordinate with the Federal Communications Commission to ensure grantees have access to telecommunications and broadband services.