Increasing Rural Telehealth Access Act of 2021

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 4008 To amend the Public Health Service Act to provide for the establishment of a virtual health pilot program to facilitate utilization of remote patient monitoring technology to maintain or expand access to health care serv- ices for individuals in rural areas, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JUNE 17, 2021 Mr. NEWHOUSE (for himself and Mr. O’HALLERAN) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce A BILL To amend the Public Health Service Act to provide for the establishment of a virtual health pilot program to facilitate utilization of remote patient monitoring tech- nology to maintain or expand access to health care serv- ices for individuals in rural areas, and for other pur- poses. 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 ‘‘Increasing Rural Tele- 4 health Access Act of 2021’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:59 Jul 09, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4008.IH H4008 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 4008 IH SEC. 2. INCREASING RURAL TELEHEALTH ACCESS. 1 (a) DEFINITIONS.—Subsection (a) of section 330I of 2 the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 254c–14) is 3 amended— 4 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (6) and (7) as 5 paragraphs (7) and (8), respectively; and 6 (2) by inserting after paragraph (5), the fol- 7 lowing: 8 ‘‘(6) REMOTE PATIENT MONITORING TECH- 9 NOLOGY.—The term ‘remote patient monitoring 10 technology’ means digital technologies used to collect 11 medical and other forms of health data from individ- 12 uals in one location and electronically transmit such 13 data securely to health care providers in a different 14 location for assessment, recommendations, and inter- 15 ventions.’’. 16 (b) PROGRAMS.—Subsection (b) of section 330I of 17 the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 254c–14) is 18 amended— 19 (1) by striking ‘‘The Secretary shall establish, 20 under section 301’’ and inserting the following: 21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall estab- 22 lish, under section 301’’; and 23 (2) by adding at the end the following new 24 paragraph: 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:59 Jul 09, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4008.IH H4008 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 4008 IH ‘‘(2) VIRTUAL HEALTH PILOT PROGRAM.—The 1 Secretary shall establish a virtual health pilot pro- 2 gram to facilitate utilization of remote patient moni- 3 toring technology to maintain or expand access to 4 health care services for individuals in rural areas.’’. 5 (c) GRANTS.—Subsection (d) of section 330I of the 6 Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 254c–14) is amend- 7 ed by adding at the end the following new paragraph: 8 ‘‘(3) VIRTUAL HEALTH NETWORK PILOT PRO- 9 GRAM GRANTS.—The Director shall, in carrying out 10 the virtual health pilot program referred to in sub- 11 section (b)(2), award grants to eligible entities to fa- 12 cilitate utilization of remote patient monitoring tech- 13 nology in rural areas to— 14 ‘‘(A) maintain or expand access to, and co- 15 ordinate health care services for, individuals 16 with chronic conditions; 17 ‘‘(B) improve and expand the training of 18 health care providers using remote patient mon- 19 itoring technology; and 20 ‘‘(C) minimize challenges facing health 21 care providers and health care facilities, includ- 22 ing rural health clinics, community health cen- 23 ters, community behavioral health centers, long- 24 term care facilities, and rural hospitals, as such 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:59 Jul 09, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4008.IH H4008 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 4008 IH providers and facilities serve their commu- 1 nities.’’. 2 (d) GRANT PERIODS.—Subsection (e) of section 330I 3 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 254c–14) is 4 amended— 5 (1) by striking ‘‘The Director may award 6 grants under this section’’ and inserting the fol- 7 lowing: 8 ‘‘(1) TELEHEALTH NETWORK AND TELE- 9 HEALTH RESEARCH CENTER GRANTS.—The Director 10 may award grants under paragraphs (1) and (2) of 11 subsection (d)’’; and 12 (2) by adding at the end the following new 13 paragraph: 14 ‘‘(2) VIRTUAL HEALTH NETWORK PILOT PRO- 15 GRAM GRANTS.—The Director shall— 16 ‘‘(A) not later than 30 days after the date 17 of enactment of Increasing Rural Telehealth 18 Access Act of 2021, issue a notice of the avail- 19 ability of funding through grants under sub- 20 section (d)(3); and 21 ‘‘(B) not later than 90 days after the date 22 of issuance of the notice required by subpara- 23 graph (A), award all grants under subsection 24 (d)(3).’’. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:59 Jul 09, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4008.IH H4008 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 4008 IH (e) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—Subsection (f) of section 1 330I of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 254c– 2 14) is amended by adding at the end the following: 3 ‘‘(4) VIRTUAL HEALTH NETWORK PILOT PRO- 4 GRAM GRANTS.—To be eligible to receive a grant 5 under subsection (d)(3), an entity shall— 6 ‘‘(A) meet the requirements of paragraphs 7 (1), (2), and (3) of this subsection that apply 8 to an entity seeking a grant under subsection 9 (d)(1); 10 ‘‘(B) be located in a rural area; and 11 ‘‘(C) demonstrate that the entity will pro- 12 vide services using remote patient monitoring 13 technology that is— 14 ‘‘(i) cellular enabled; 15 ‘‘(ii) approved, cleared, or authorized 16 by the Food and Drug Administration; and 17 ‘‘(iii) operable using cellular stand- 18 ards, including 2G and 3G, that offer 19 broad network coverage in rural areas 20 without broadband access, as determined 21 by the Secretary.’’. 22 (f) APPLICATIONS.—Subsection (g) of section 330I of 23 the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 254c–14) is 24 amended— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:59 Jul 09, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4008.IH H4008 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 4008 IH (1) by redesignating paragraphs (1) through 1 (8) as subparagraphs (A) through (H), respectively, 2 and moving the margin of each such redesignated 3 subparagraph 2 ems to the right; 4 (2) by striking ‘‘To be eligible to receive a grant 5 under subsection (d)’’ and inserting the following: 6 ‘‘(1) TELEHEALTH NETWORK AND TELE- 7 HEALTH RESEARCH CENTER GRANTS.—To be eligi- 8 ble to receive a grant under paragraph (1) or (2) of 9 subsection (d)’’; and 10 (3) by adding at the end the following new 11 paragraph: 12 ‘‘(2) VIRTUAL HEALTH NETWORK PILOT PRO- 13 GRAM GRANTS.—To be eligible to receive a grant 14 under subsection (d)(3), an eligible entity shall pre- 15 pare and submit to the Secretary an application at 16 such time, in such manner, and containing such in- 17 formation as the Secretary may require and include 18 in such application— 19 ‘‘(A) a description of the project that the 20 eligible entity will carry out using the funds 21 provided under the grant; 22 ‘‘(B) a description of the manner in which 23 the project funded under the grant will meet 24 the health care needs of rural or other popu- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:59 Jul 09, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4008.IH H4008 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 4008 IH lations to be served through the project, or 1 maintain or improve access to services of, and 2 the quality of the services received by, those 3 populations; 4 ‘‘(C) information on the source and 5 amount of non-Federal funds that the entity 6 will provide for the project; and 7 ‘‘(D) evidence of intent to provide services 8 using remote patient monitoring technology as 9 described in subsection (f)(4)(C).’’. 10 (g) PREFERENCES.—Subsection (h) of section 330I 11 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 254c–14) is 12 amended by adding at the end the following new para- 13 graph: 14 ‘‘(3) VIRTUAL HEALTH NETWORK PILOT PRO- 15 GRAM GRANTS.—In awarding grants under sub- 16 section (d)(3), the Secretary shall give preference to 17 any eligible entity that— 18 ‘‘(A) is able to establish a virtual health 19 program using remote patient monitoring tech- 20 nology within 60 days of receipt of the award; 21 and 22 ‘‘(B) proposes to use Federal funds made 23 available through such a grant to establish and 24 furnish services using remote patient moni- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:59 Jul 09, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4008.IH H4008 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 4008 IH toring technology that provides real time, con- 1 tinuous coaching services.’’. 2 (h) USE OF FUNDS.—Subsection (j) of section 330I 3 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 254c–14) is 4 amended by adding at the end the following new para- 5 graph: 6 ‘‘(3) VIRTUAL HEALTH NETWORK PILOT PRO- 7 GRAM GRANTS.—The recipient of a grant under sub- 8 section (d)(3) may use funds received through such 9 grant for salaries, equipment, and operating or other 10 costs for— 11 ‘‘(A) developing and delivering services 12 using remote patient monitoring technology 13 that enhance access to community-based health 14 care services in rural areas; 15 ‘‘(B) developing and acquiring, through 16 lease or purchase, computer hardware and soft- 17 ware, audio and video equipment, computer net- 18 work equipment, interactive equipment, data 19 terminal equipment, and other equipment that 20 furthers the objectives of the virtual health pilot 21 program; 22 ‘‘(C)(i) providing for transmission of med- 23 ical data, and maintenance of equipment; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:59 Jul 09, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4008.IH H4008 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 4008 IH ‘‘(ii) providing for compensation (including 1 travel expenses) of specialists, and referring 2 health care providers, who are providing virtual 3 health services through remote patient moni- 4 toring technology if no third-party payment is 5 available; 6 ‘‘(D) collecting and analyzing usage statis- 7 tics and data to document the cost-effectiveness 8 of services using remote patient monitoring 9 technology; and 10 ‘‘(E) carrying out such other activities as 11 are consistent with achieving the objectives of 12 the virtual health pilot program, as determined 13 by the Secretary.’’. 14 (i) FUNDING.—Subsection (q) of section 330I of the 15 Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 254c–14) is amend- 16 ed— 17 (1) in the subsection heading, by striking ‘‘AU- 18 THORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS’’ and inserting 19 ‘‘FUNDING’’; 20 (2) by striking ‘‘There are authorized to be ap- 21 propriated to carry out this section’’ and inserting 22 the following: 23 ‘‘(1) TELEHEALTH NETWORK AND TELE- 24 HEALTH RESEARCH CENTER GRANTS.—To carry out 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:59 Jul 09, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4008.IH H4008 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 4008 IH this section with respect to grants under paragraphs 1 (1) and (2) of subsection (d), there is authorized to 2 be appropriated’’; and 3 (3) by adding at the end the following new 4 paragraph: 5 ‘‘(2) VIRTUAL HEALTH NETWORK PILOT PRO- 6 GRAM GRANTS.—To carry out this section with re- 7 spect to the virtual health pilot program under sub- 8 section (b)(2), including grants under subsection 9 (d)(3), there is authorized to be appropriated 10 $50,000,000, to remain available until expended.’’. 11 (j) REPORT.—Not later than two years after award- 12 ing all grants under subsection (d)(3) of section 330I of 13 the Public Health Service Act, as added by this section, 14 the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall prepare 15 and submit to the Committee on Energy and Commerce 16 of the House of Representatives and the Committee on 17 Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate a 18 report on the activities and outcomes of the pilot program 19 under subsection (b)(2) of section 330I of such Act, as 20 added by this section. 21 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:59 Jul 09, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H4008.IH H4008 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS