COVID–19 Emergency Telehealth Impact Reporting Act of 2021

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 1406 To require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to collect, analyze, and report qualitative and quantitative data on the use of telehealth during the COVID–19 public health emergency. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FEBRUARY 26, 2021 Mr. CURTIS (for himself, Mr. WELCH, and Ms. MATSUI) introduced the fol- lowing bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Com- merce, and in addition to the Committee on Ways and Means, for a pe- riod to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for con- sideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the com- mittee concerned A BILL To require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to collect, analyze, and report qualitative and quan- titative data on the use of telehealth during the COVID– 19 public health emergency. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘COVID–19 Emergency 4 Telehealth Impact Reporting Act of 2021’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:30 Mar 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1406.IH H1406 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 1406 IH SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 1 In this Act: 2 (1) COVID–19 PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY.— 3 The term ‘‘COVID–19 public health emergency’’ 4 means the outbreak and public health response per- 5 taining to Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID–19), 6 associated with the emergency declared by the Sec- 7 retary on January 31, 2020, under section 319 of 8 the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 247d), and 9 any renewals thereof and any subsequent declara- 10 tions by the Secretary related to COVID–19. 11 (2) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 12 the Secretary of Health and Human Services. 13 SEC. 3. DATA COLLECTION AND REPORTS ON THE USE OF 14 TELEHEALTH DURING THE COVID–19 PUBLIC 15 HEALTH EMERGENCY. 16 (a) DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS.— 17 (1) IN GENERAL.—Beginning not later than 30 18 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the 19 Secretary shall collect and analyze qualitative and 20 quantitative data on the impact of telehealth serv- 21 ices, virtual check-ins, digital health, and remote pa- 22 tient monitoring technologies on health care delivery 23 permitted by the waiver or modification of certain 24 requirements under titles XVIII of the Social Secu- 25 rity Act (42 U.S.C. 1395 et seq.), and any regula- 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:30 Mar 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1406.IH H1406 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 1406 IH tions thereunder, pursuant to section 1135 of such 1 Act (42 U.S.C. 1320b–5) during the COVID–19 2 public health emergency, which may include the col- 3 lection of data regarding— 4 (A) health care utilization rates across the 5 Medicare program under title XVIII of the So- 6 cial Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395 et seq.) for 7 individuals confirmed or suspected to have 8 COVID–19 and individuals seeking care unre- 9 lated to COVID–19, including— 10 (i) patient access to telehealth services 11 in medically underserved communities; or 12 (ii) individuals receiving telehealth 13 services through federally qualified health 14 centers (as defined in section 1861(aa)(4) 15 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 16 1395x(aa)(4)) or rural health clinics (as 17 defined in section 1861(aa)(2) of such Act 18 (42 U.S.C. 1395x(aa)(2))) serving as origi- 19 nating sites or distant sites, and any chal- 20 lenges for providers furnishing telehealth 21 services in these communities; 22 (B) health care quality for individuals con- 23 firmed or suspected to have COVID–19 and in- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:30 Mar 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1406.IH H1406 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 1406 IH dividuals seeking care unrelated to COVID–19 1 as measured by— 2 (i) quality of care metrics, such as 3 hospital readmission rates, missed appoint- 4 ment rates, or wellness visits, and 5 (ii) engagement metrics, such as vol- 6 untary patient satisfaction surveys and vol- 7 untary provider satisfaction surveys; 8 (C) audio-only telehealth utilization rates 9 when other video-based telehealth was not an 10 option or any other telehealth services that were 11 not provided in real-time (including text-mes- 12 saging or through online chat platforms), the 13 types of visits, and the types of providers treat- 14 ing individuals; 15 (D) telehealth utilization rates used to 16 treat individuals across State lines; 17 (E) the health outcomes of any individual 18 who utilizes telehealth services to treat an un- 19 derlying health condition such as diabetes, end- 20 stage renal disease, chronic lung disease, ob- 21 structive pulmonary disease, coronary artery 22 disease, or cirrhosis and the types of technology 23 utilized to receive care, including text-mes- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:30 Mar 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1406.IH H1406 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 1406 IH saging, online chat platforms, audio-only, or 1 video conferencing; 2 (F) the health outcomes of any individual 3 who utilizes mental health care and substance 4 use disorder treatment services, and the types 5 of technology utilized to receive care, including 6 text-messaging, online chat platforms, audio- 7 only, or video conferencing; 8 (G) the impact of State and Federal pri- 9 vacy and security protections on the delivery of 10 care and patient safety, including the security 11 of the various technologies utilized to deliver or 12 receive telehealth care; 13 (H) how telehealth access differs by race, 14 ethnicity, or income levels; 15 (I) the types of technologies utilized to de- 16 liver or receive telehealth care, including Zoom, 17 Skype, FaceTime, text messaging, online chat 18 platforms, or other technologies, as observed by 19 the Secretary, and utilization rates, 20 disaggregated by type of technology (as applica- 21 ble); 22 (J) the investments necessary for providers 23 to develop a platform to effectively provide tele- 24 health services to their patients, including the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:30 Mar 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1406.IH H1406 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 1406 IH costs of the necessary technology and the costs 1 of training staff; and 2 (K) any additional information determined 3 appropriate by the Secretary. 4 (2) BROADBAND AVAILABILITY DATA.—Upon 5 request by the Secretary, the Assistant Secretary of 6 Commerce for Communications and Information and 7 the Federal Communications Commission shall pro- 8 vide the Secretary any relevant data regarding the 9 availability of broadband internet access service (as 10 defined in section 801 of the Communications Act of 11 1934 (47 U.S.C. 641)) for the purposes of com- 12 pleting the report under paragraph (1). 13 (b) INTERIM REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 14 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec- 15 retary shall submit to the Committees on Finance and 16 Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate and 17 the Committees on Ways and Means and Energy and 18 Commerce of the House of Representatives an interim re- 19 port on the impact of telehealth based on the data col- 20 lected and analyzed under subsection (a). For the pur- 21 poses of the interim report, the Secretary may determine 22 which data collected and analyzed under subsection (a) is 23 most appropriate to complete such report. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:30 Mar 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1406.IH H1406 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 1406 IH (c) FINAL REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 1 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec- 2 retary shall submit to the Committees on Finance and 3 Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate and 4 the Committees on Ways and Means and Energy and 5 Commerce of the House of Representatives a final report 6 on the impact of telehealth based on the data collected 7 and analyzed under subsection (a) that includes— 8 (1) conclusions regarding the impact of tele- 9 health services on health care delivery during the 10 COVID–19 public health emergency; and 11 (2) an estimation for total Medicare spending 12 on telehealth services, including total spending for 13 each specific type of service for which Medicare re- 14 imbursed. 15 (d) STAKEHOLDER INPUT.— 16 (1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of subsections 17 (a), (b), and (c), the Secretary shall seek input from 18 the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission, the 19 Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commis- 20 sion and nongovernmental stakeholders, including 21 patient organizations, providers, and experts in tele- 22 health. 23 (2) COMMENT PERIOD.—For the purposes of 24 this subsection, the Secretary shall establish a com- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:30 Mar 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1406.IH H1406 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 1406 IH ment period not later than 14 days after the date of 1 enactment of this Act. 2 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:30 Mar 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H1406.IH H1406 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS