TREATS Act

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 1647 To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to increase the use of telehealth for substance use disorder treatment and mental health serv- ices, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MARCH 8, 2021 Mr. MCKINLEY (for himself, Mr. CICILLINE, Mr. TRONE, and Mr. BUDD) in- troduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on En- ergy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committees on Ways and Means, and the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall with- in the jurisdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to increase the use of telehealth for substance use disorder treatment and mental health services, and for other purposes. 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 ‘‘Telehealth Response 4 for E-prescribing Addiction Therapy Services Act’’ or 5 ‘‘TREATS Act’’. 6 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:36 May 01, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1647.IH H1647 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 1647 IH SEC. 2. TELEHEALTH FOR SUBSTANCE USE DISORDER 1 TREATMENT AND MENTAL HEALTH SERV- 2 ICES. 3 (a) SUBSTANCE USE DISORDER SERVICES AND MEN- 4 TAL HEALTH SERVICES FURNISHED THROUGH TELE- 5 HEALTH UNDER MEDICARE.— 6 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 1834(m)(7)(A) of 7 the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395m(m)(7)(A)) 8 is amended by adding at the end the following: 9 ‘‘With respect to telehealth services described in the 10 preceding sentence that are furnished to an eligible 11 telehealth individual with a substance use disorder 12 diagnosis for purposes of treatment of such disorder 13 or co-occurring mental health disorder on or after 14 the date of the enactment of the Telehealth Re- 15 sponse for E-prescribing Addiction Therapy Services 16 Act, or, subject to subparagraph (B), that are fur- 17 nished to an eligible telehealth individual for pur- 18 poses of diagnosis, evaluation, or treatment of a 19 mental health disorder, on or after the first day 20 after the end of the emergency period described in 21 section 1135(g)(1)(B), nothing shall preclude the 22 furnishing of such services through audio or tele- 23 phone only technologies in the case where a physi- 24 cian or practitioner has already conducted an in-per- 25 son medical evaluation or a telehealth evaluation 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:36 May 01, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1647.IH H1647 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 1647 IH that utilizes both audio and visual capabilities with 1 the eligible telehealth individual.’’. 2 (2) IMPLEMENTATION.—The Secretary of 3 Health and Human Services may implement this 4 subsection by program instruction or otherwise. 5 (b) CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES DISPENSED BY 6 MEANS OF THE INTERNET.—Section 309(e)(2) of the 7 Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 829(e)(2)) is 8 amended— 9 (1) in subparagraph (A)(i)— 10 (A) by striking ‘‘at least 1 in-person med- 11 ical evaluation’’ and inserting the following: ‘‘at 12 least— 13 ‘‘(I) 1 in-person medical evalua- 14 tion’’; and 15 (B) by adding at the end the following: 16 ‘‘(II) for purposes of prescribing 17 a controlled substance in schedule III 18 or IV, 1 telehealth evaluation; or’’; 19 and 20 (2) by adding at the end the following: 21 ‘‘(D)(i) The term ‘telehealth evaluation’ 22 means a medical evaluation that is conducted in 23 accordance with applicable Federal and State 24 laws by a practitioner (other than a phar- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:36 May 01, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1647.IH H1647 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 1647 IH macist) who is at a location remote from the 1 patient and is communicating with the patient 2 using a telecommunications system referred to 3 in section 1834(m) of the Social Security Act 4 (42 U.S.C. 1395m(m)) that includes, at a min- 5 imum, audio and video equipment permitting 6 two-way, real-time interactive communication 7 between the patient and distant site practi- 8 tioner. 9 ‘‘(ii) Nothing in clause (i) shall be con- 10 strued to imply that 1 telehealth evaluation 11 demonstrates that a prescription has been 12 issued for a legitimate medical purpose within 13 the usual course of professional practice. 14 ‘‘(iii) A practitioner who prescribes the 15 drugs or combination of drugs that are covered 16 under section 303(g)(2)(C) using the authority 17 under subparagraph (A)(i)(II) of this para- 18 graph shall adhere to nationally recognized evi- 19 dence-based guidelines for the treatment of pa- 20 tients with opioid use disorders and a diversion 21 control plan, as those terms are defined in sec- 22 tion 8.2 of title 42, Code of Federal Regula- 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:36 May 01, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1647.IH H1647 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 1647 IH tions, as in effect on the date of enactment of 1 this subparagraph.’’. 2 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:36 May 01, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H1647.IH H1647 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS