Audio-Only Telehealth for Emergencies Act

II 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 2111 To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to provide for the waiver of certain telehealth requirements to permit reimbursement for audio- only telehealth services under the Medicare program during emergency declarations. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JUNE 17, 2021 Mr. KENNEDY introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance A BILL To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to provide for the waiver of certain telehealth requirements to per- mit reimbursement for audio-only telehealth services under the Medicare program during emergency declara- tions. 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 ‘‘Audio-Only Telehealth 4 for Emergencies Act’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:33 Jun 24, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2111.IS S2111 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •S 2111 IS SEC. 2. WAIVER OF CERTAIN TELEHEALTH REQUIREMENTS 1 TO PERMIT REIMBURSEMENT FOR AUDIO- 2 ONLY TELEHEALTH SERVICES UNDER THE 3 MEDICARE PROGRAM DURING EMERGENCY 4 DECLARATIONS. 5 Section 1834(m) of the Social Security Act (42 6 U.S.C. 1395m(m)) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 7 1395m(m)) is amended— 8 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘paragraph 9 (8)’’ and inserting ‘‘paragraphs (8) and (9)’’; and 10 (2) by adding at the end the following new 11 paragraph: 12 ‘‘(9) REIMBURSEMENT FOR AUDIO-ONLY TELE- 13 HEALTH SERVICES DURING EMERGENCY DECLARA- 14 TIONS.— 15 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—With respect to tele- 16 health services furnished on or after the date of 17 enactment of this paragraph, the Secretary 18 shall waive the requirements of paragraph (1) 19 and section 410.78(a)(3) of title 42, Code of 20 Federal Regulations (or any successor regula- 21 tion), relating to the use of interactive tele- 22 communications systems to furnish telehealth 23 services, to the extent such provisions require 24 the use of video technology, to allow for the fur- 25 nishing of telehealth services using audio-only 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:33 Jun 24, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2111.IS S2111 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •S 2111 IS technology, as determined appropriate by the 1 Secretary, with respect to such services fur- 2 nished in any geographical area in which, and 3 any period during which, there exists— 4 ‘‘(i) an emergency or disaster declared 5 by the President pursuant to the National 6 Emergencies Act or the Robert T. Stafford 7 Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance 8 Act; or 9 ‘‘(ii) a public health emergency de- 10 clared by the Secretary pursuant to section 11 319 of the Public Health Service Act. 12 ‘‘(B) PAYMENT PARITY.—The Secretary 13 shall provide that any telehealth service fur- 14 nished using audio-only technology pursuant to 15 a waiver under subparagraph (A) is reimbursed 16 at the same rate at which the service would be 17 reimbursed if furnished in person.’’. 18 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:33 Jun 24, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S2111.IS S2111 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS