Enhancing Preparedness through Telehealth Act

II 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. 3988 To amend the Public Health Service Act with respect to telehealth enhancements for emergency response. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JUNE 17, 2020 Mr. CASSIDY (for himself, Ms. SMITH, Mr. JONES, and Mr. SULLIVAN) intro- duced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Com- mittee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions A BILL To amend the Public Health Service Act with respect to telehealth enhancements for emergency response. 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 ‘‘Enhancing Prepared- 4 ness through Telehealth Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. TELEHEALTH ENHANCEMENTS FOR EMERGENCY 6 RESPONSE. 7 Subsection (e) of section 319D of the Public Health 8 Service Act (42 U.S.C. 247d–4) is amended to read as 9 follows: 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:25 Jun 26, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3988.IS S3988 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 3988 IS ‘‘(e) TELEHEALTH ENHANCEMENTS FOR EMER- 1 GENCY RESPONSE.— 2 ‘‘(1) EVALUATION.—The Secretary, in consulta- 3 tion with the Federal Communications Commission 4 and other relevant Federal agencies, shall, every 5 5 years— 6 ‘‘(A) conduct an inventory of telehealth ini- 7 tiatives in existence on the date of enactment of 8 the Enhancing Preparedness through Tele- 9 health Act, including the— 10 ‘‘(i) specific location of networks and 11 health information technology infrastruc- 12 ture that support such initiatives; 13 ‘‘(ii) medical, technological, and com- 14 munications capabilities of such initiatives; 15 ‘‘(iii) functionality of such initiatives; 16 and 17 ‘‘(iv) capacity and ability of such ini- 18 tiatives to handle increased volume during 19 the response to a public health emergency; 20 ‘‘(B) identify methods to expand and inter- 21 connect the State and regional health informa- 22 tion networks funded by the Secretary, the 23 State and regional broadband networks funded 24 by the Federal Communications Commission, 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:25 Jun 26, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3988.IS S3988 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 3988 IS including such networks supported by the rural 1 health care support mechanism pilot program, 2 and other telehealth networks; 3 ‘‘(C) evaluate ways to prepare for, monitor, 4 respond rapidly to, or manage the events of, a 5 public health emergency through the enhanced 6 use of telehealth technologies, including— 7 ‘‘(i) mechanisms for payment or reim- 8 bursement for use of such technologies and 9 personnel during public health emer- 10 gencies; 11 ‘‘(ii) the use of telehealth technologies 12 and services by health care providers in re- 13 cent public health emergencies; 14 ‘‘(iii) ways in which States used tele- 15 health technologies and services in State 16 responses to public health emergencies; 17 and 18 ‘‘(iv) infrastructure and resource 19 needs to ensure providers have the nec- 20 essary tools, training, and technical assist- 21 ance to provide telehealth services; 22 ‘‘(D) identify methods for reducing legal 23 barriers that deter health care professionals 24 from providing telehealth services, such as by 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:25 Jun 26, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3988.IS S3988 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 3988 IS utilizing State emergency health care profes- 1 sional credentialing verification systems, en- 2 couraging States to establish and implement 3 mechanisms to improve interstate medical licen- 4 sure cooperation, facilitating the exchange of in- 5 formation among States regarding investiga- 6 tions and adverse actions, and encouraging 7 States to waive the application of licensing re- 8 quirements during a public health emergency; 9 ‘‘(E) evaluate ways to integrate the prac- 10 tice of telehealth within the National Disaster 11 Medical System or any recent actions taken re- 12 lated to such integration; 13 ‘‘(F) promote greater coordination among 14 existing Federal interagency telehealth and 15 health information technology initiatives; and 16 ‘‘(G) make recommendations related to up- 17 dates on the use of telehealth in public health 18 emergencies in Federal and State public health 19 preparedness plans and any actions taken to 20 implement such recommendations. 21 ‘‘(2) REPORT.— 22 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.— 23 ‘‘(i) INITIAL REPORT.—Not later than 24 1 year after the date of enactment of the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:25 Jun 26, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3988.IS S3988 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 3988 IS Enhancing Preparedness through Tele- 1 health Act, the Secretary shall prepare and 2 submit a report to the Committee on 3 Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of 4 the Senate and the Committee on Energy 5 and Commerce of the House of Represent- 6 atives regarding the findings and rec- 7 ommendations pursuant to paragraph (1). 8 ‘‘(ii) SUBSEQUENT REPORTS.—The 9 Secretary shall submit updated reports de- 10 scribed in clause (i) to the committees de- 11 scribed in such clause not later than Janu- 12 ary 1, 2023, and every 5 years thereafter. 13 ‘‘(B) CONSIDERATIONS.—In preparing the 14 reports under subparagraph (A), the Secretary 15 shall take into consideration potential barriers 16 to the adoption of telehealth by patients and 17 providers during a public health emergency, in- 18 cluding— 19 ‘‘(i) provider reimbursement; 20 ‘‘(ii) insurance coverage; 21 ‘‘(iii) provider licensure; 22 ‘‘(iv) accessibility of telehealth and re- 23 mote technologies; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:25 Jun 26, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3988.IS S3988 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 3988 IS ‘‘(v) concerns around violating rel- 1 evant privacy, security, and patient safety 2 regulations.’’. 3 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:25 Jun 26, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S3988.IS S3988 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS