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II
116TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
S. 3998
To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to simplify payments for
telehealth services furnished by Federally qualified health centers or
rural health clinics under the Medicare program, and for other purposes.
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
JUNE 18, 2020
Mrs. HYDE-SMITH (for herself and Mr. KING) 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 simplify
payments for telehealth services furnished by Federally
qualified health centers or rural health clinics under the
Medicare program, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
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tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
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This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Improving Telehealth
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for Underserved Communities Act of 2020’’.
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•S 3998 IS
SEC. 2. SIMPLIFYING PAYMENTS FOR TELEHEALTH SERV-
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ICES FURNISHED BY FEDERALLY QUALIFIED
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HEALTH CENTERS OR RURAL HEALTH CLIN-
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ICS.
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(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1834(m)(8)(B) of the So-
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cial Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395m(m)(8)(B)) is amended
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to read as follows:
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‘‘(B) PAYMENT.—The Secretary shall pay
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to a Federally qualified health center or rural
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health clinic serving as a distant site that fur-
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nishes a telehealth service to an eligible tele-
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health individual an amount equal to the
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amount that such Federally qualified health
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center or rural health clinic would have been
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paid under the payment methodology described
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in section 1834(o) or section 1833(a)(3), re-
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spectively, had such service been furnished
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without the use of a telecommunications sys-
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tem. Costs associated with the delivery of such
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services by a Federally qualified health center
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or rural health clinic serving as a distant site
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pursuant to this paragraph shall be considered
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allowable costs for purposes of the payment
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methodologies described in the previous sen-
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tence.’’.
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•S 3998 IS
(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by
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subsection (a) shall apply with respect to payments for
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telehealth services furnished on or after the first day of
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the emergency period described in section 1135(g)(1)(B)
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of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1320b–5(g)(1)(B)).
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SEC. 3. INCREASING LIMITS ON PAYMENT FOR RURAL
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HEALTH CLINIC SERVICES.
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Section 1833(f) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C.
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1395l(f)) is amended—
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(1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘, and’’ and
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inserting a semicolon;
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(2) in paragraph (2)—
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(A) by inserting ‘‘(before 2020)’’ after
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‘‘subsequent year’’; and
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(B) by striking the period at the end and
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inserting a semicolon; and
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(3) by adding at the end the following new
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paragraphs:
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‘‘(3) in 2020, at $92.03 per visit; and
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‘‘(4) in a subsequent year, at the limit estab-
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lished under this subsection for the previous year in-
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creased by the percentage increase in the MEI (as
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so defined) applicable to primary care services (as so
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defined) furnished as of the first day of that year.’’.
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Æ
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