Telehealth Expansion Act of 2019

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 5257 To direct the Federal Communications Commission to establish a program to be known as the ‘‘Expanding Telehealth Program’’. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES NOVEMBER 22, 2019 Mr. COX of California introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce A BILL To direct the Federal Communications Commission to estab- lish a program to be known as the ‘‘Expanding Tele- health Program’’. 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 Expansion 4 Act of 2019’’. 5 SEC. 2. EXPANDING TELEHEALTH PROGRAM. 6 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 90 days after 7 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Commission 8 shall establish a program to be known as the ‘‘Expanding 9 Telehealth Program’’. 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:42 Dec 06, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5257.IH H5257 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •HR 5257 IH (b) PURPOSES OF PROGRAM.—The purposes of the 1 Program are— 2 (1) to support connected care services for low- 3 income individuals, individuals residing in rural 4 areas, and veterans through telehealth services and 5 health care providers; 6 (2) to defray the costs of internet services to 7 health care providers to provide connected care serv- 8 ices to low-income individuals, individuals residing in 9 rural areas, and veterans with conditions such as be- 10 havioral health conditions, opioid dependency, chron- 11 ic health conditions (such as diabetes, kidney dis- 12 ease, heart disease, stroke recovery, and traumatic 13 brain injury), mental health conditions, cancer, and 14 high-risk pregnancies; 15 (3) to promote innovative telehealth services 16 technologies by empowering health care providers to 17 connect directly with patients; and 18 (4) to gather data and information on medical 19 conditions, transitions of care services, telehealth 20 services, and health care provider resources or needs 21 that may be considered in potential reforms needed 22 to improve the efficiency or effectiveness of the Pro- 23 gram. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:42 Dec 06, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5257.IH H5257 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •HR 5257 IH (c) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 1 year 1 after the establishment of the Program, the Commission 2 shall submit to congressional committees of jurisdiction a 3 report on the impacts of the Program on access to health 4 care services, improvements in the health status of pa- 5 tients, and the cost-effectiveness of the Program. The re- 6 port shall also include recommendations to Congress on 7 policy reforms needed or ways to improve telehealth serv- 8 ices, including telehealth services provided to low-income 9 individuals, individuals residing in rural areas, veterans, 10 and other underserved populations. 11 (d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 12 (1) COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commission’’ 13 means the Federal Communications Commission. 14 (2) INTERNET SERVICE.—The term ‘‘internet 15 service’’ has the meaning given the term ‘‘broadband 16 internet access service’’ in section 8.1(b) of title 47, 17 Code of Federal Regulations (or any successor regu- 18 lation). 19 (3) PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘Program’’ means 20 the Expanding Telehealth Program established 21 under subsection (a). 22 (4) TRANSITIONS OF CARE SERVICES.—The 23 term ‘‘transitions of care services’’ means the move- 24 ment of a patient from one setting of care to an- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:42 Dec 06, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5257.IH H5257 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •HR 5257 IH other setting of care, including settings of care such 1 as hospitals, ambulatory primary care practices, am- 2 bulatory specialty care practices, long-term care fa- 3 cilities, home health, and rehabilitation facilities. 4 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:42 Dec 06, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H5257.IH H5257 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS