Federal momentum is building behind wearable health tech and remote patient monitoring—with big implications for rural communities and Veterans. See how Life365 is positioned at the center of this shift, bringing scalable, connected care to those who need it most.
Life365 and the Federal Push for Wearables
In a powerful convergence of policy and innovation, two federal initiatives are reshaping the future of healthcare – particularly for underserved populations in rural America and among U.S. Veterans. Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., is spearheading a movement to mainstream wearable health technologies. And Sen. Marsha Blackburn’s (R-Tenn.) Rural Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM) Access Act aims to remove systemic barriers to RPM reimbursement and availability.
For Life365, a leader in scalable, cloud-based RPM platforms, this is more than an opportunity – it’s a mission-aligned turning point. These initiatives validate our approach, expand our reach, and most importantly, bring equitable, connected care to the people who need it most.
Rural and Veteran Populations Face Unseen Barriers
Nearly 60 million Americans live in rural areas. Yet, they’re served by only 10% of the nation’s physicians. Many counties lack critical specialists, and over 650 rural hospitals are currently at risk of closure. Older adults in these regions face the added challenge of aging in isolation, managing chronic diseases without consistent access to care.
Veterans are disproportionately affected. One in four lives in a rural community, often far from the nearest VA center. They experience higher rates of chronic illness, mental health conditions, and disability, making them prime candidates for proactive remote care.
Every day, 10,000 Americans turn 65, and more than 70% live with at least one chronic condition. The time for a scalable, tech-enabled solution is now.
Mainstreaming Wearables as Preventive Tools
Kennedy envisions a future where wearable health devices are as common as smartphones. At a recent Digital Health Caucus hearing, he called for “every American to be on a wearable within four years,” citing their proven ability to monitor and improve chronic disease outcomes.
HHS plans to support this vision with its largest-ever digital health awareness campaign, promoting wearables like glucose monitors, heart rate trackers, and sleep sensors as essential tools for preventive care. For individuals living miles from the nearest clinic, this shift is transformative.
Connecting Devices to Care Teams
Life365 sits at the heart of this transformation. By linking FDA-approved wearables, such as blood pressure cuffs, glucometers, and pulse oximeters, to a HIPAA-compliant cloud platform, we enable care teams to monitor patients 24/7, regardless of location.
Our platform delivers:
- Real-time vitals and trend monitoring
- Automated alerts for out-of-range metrics
- Telehealth integration to intervene early
- Offline syncing and cellular options for low-bandwidth areas
- Integration with over 550 connected medical devices
- Partnership with Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare, offering the potential to link to more than 1,000 health systems and hospitals nationwide
This model doesn’t just improve care, it prevents complications. Acquiring data from cost-effective connected solutions for early insights and trends heads off costlier consequences later. It also enables healthcare to move from a reactive state to one proactive, predictive, preventive, personalized and prioritized.
It enables patients to stay healthier at home, reduces ER visits, and lowers healthcare costs. For Veterans, it means no longer needing to drive for hours to access basic care.
Removing Financial Roadblocks
While the HHS campaign provides the vision, the Rural RPM Access Act provides the funding framework. Introduced by Sen. Blackburn, the bill aims to close the reimbursement gap between rural and urban providers, making RPM financially viable for small, rural clinics.
The Act would:
- Equalize Medicare reimbursement rates for rural RPM services
- Require clinical response protocols and EHR integration
- Collect data to measure RPM’s cost-effectiveness and outcomes
The bipartisan support behind this legislation underscores what Life365 has long championed: Proactive care should not be a privilege reserved for urban centers.
Why Veterans Stand to Benefit Most
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs already operates one of the largest RPM programs in the country, with more than 72,000 enrolled Veterans. But gaps remain, especially in rural areas. The combination of increased funding, device adoption, and scalable platforms, like Life365’s, can help close these gaps for good.
With wearables and RPM, the VA can:
- Expand remote care access to thousands more Veterans
- Monitor mental health via sleep, movement, and heart rate variability (HRV)
- Prevent avoidable hospitalizations and save taxpayer dollars
- Support aging in place with dignity and independence
Challenges
We recognize that obstacles remain. Privacy concerns, clinician staffing shortages, and infrastructure limitations are real. Life365 actively addresses these by:
- Enforcing end-to-end encryption and HIPAA compliance
- Providing supplemental clinical resources for patient monitoring
- Offering device training and engagement tailored to seniors
As the federal push ramps up, Life365 also offers ready-to-implement RPM kits, making it easy for providers to adopt the technology without the burden of new infrastructure.
A Healthier America, One Device at a Time
The convergence of federal momentum, veteran advocacy, and scalable technology has created a rare opportunity to reshape healthcare delivery in America’s hardest-to-reach communities.
For Life365, this moment affirms our purpose to make proactive, connected care available to every American, regardless of age, geography, or mobility.
