Supporting AB 688: Why Telehealth Access for All Matters

At Empathy Therapy, we believe that mental health care should be accessible, flexible, and responsive to the real needs of individuals and families. That’s why we’re voicing our support for California Assembly Bill 688 — the “Telehealth for All Act of 2025.”

AB 688 aims to increase transparency and accountability within the Medi-Cal system by requiring the Department of Health Care Services to publish biennial reports on telehealth usage, broken down by age, race, language, region, and more. These reports will help identify who is — and who isn’t — getting access to care, helping California move toward more equitable health outcomes.

While our practice is private-pay and not part of the Medi-Cal system, we recognize that the challenges AB 688 seeks to address are real. As a telehealth-only practice for over ten years, serving CA, AZ, OR, WA, AK, and NY, we witness every day how powerful virtual care can be when it’s done right: care that is timely, confidential, and tailored to each person.

On average, new patients are scheduled within 1–3 weeks — and sometimes even sooner. Our intake process is fully online through our online booking system, and we do this intentionally to make accessing care easier, not harder. In many public systems, individuals may wait six weeks or more for an initial appointment. We believe that everyone deserves timely, high-quality care, regardless of their insurance status or ZIP code.

That’s why AB 688 matters. It’s a step toward ensuring that public systems can offer the same level of responsiveness and ease that many private-pay systems already provide. No one should have to wait months for mental health support. No one should be left behind due to geography, language, or coverage.

We’ll be watching AB 688 closely as it moves through the legislature, and we encourage others — especially those in the mental health community — to support efforts that bring high-quality telehealth to more people.

Want to learn more or express your support? Visit https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov and search for AB 688. Access to care shouldn’t be a luxury — it should be a given.

Empathy Therapy is proud to be part of the solution.