COVID–19 Emergency Telehealth Impact Reporting Act of 2020

II 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. 4289 To require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to collect, analyze, and report qualitative and quantitative data on the use of telehealth during the COVID–19 public health emergency. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JULY 22, 2020 Mr. YOUNG (for himself, Mrs. CAPITO, and Mr. KING) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance A BILL To require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to collect, analyze, and report qualitative and quan- titative data on the use of telehealth during the COVID– 19 public health emergency. 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 ‘‘COVID–19 Emergency 4 Telehealth Impact Reporting Act of 2020’’. 5 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 6 In this Act: 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:35 Aug 10, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4289.IS S4289 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 4289 IS (1) COVID–19 PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY.— 1 The term ‘‘COVID–19 public health emergency’’ 2 means the outbreak and public health response per- 3 taining to Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID–19), 4 associated with the emergency declared by the Sec- 5 retary on January 31, 2020, under section 319 of 6 the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 247d), and 7 any renewals thereof and any subsequent declara- 8 tions by the Secretary related to COVID–19. 9 (2) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 10 the Secretary of Health and Human Services. 11 SEC. 3. DATA COLLECTION AND REPORTS ON THE USE OF 12 TELEHEALTH DURING THE COVID–19 PUBLIC 13 HEALTH EMERGENCY. 14 (a) DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS.— 15 (1) IN GENERAL.—Beginning not later than 30 16 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the 17 Secretary shall collect and analyze qualitative and 18 quantitative data on the impact of telehealth serv- 19 ices, virtual check-ins, digital health, and remote pa- 20 tient monitoring technologies on health care delivery 21 permitted by the waiver or modification of certain 22 requirements under titles XVIII of the Social Secu- 23 rity Act (42 U.S.C. 1395 et seq.), and any regula- 24 tions thereunder, pursuant to section 1135 of such 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:35 Aug 10, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4289.IS S4289 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 4289 IS Act (42 U.S.C. 1320b–5) during the COVID–19 1 public health emergency, which may include the col- 2 lection of data regarding— 3 (A) health care utilization rates across the 4 Medicare program under title XVIII of the So- 5 cial Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395 et seq.) for 6 individuals confirmed or suspected to have 7 COVID–19 and individuals seeking care unre- 8 lated to COVID–19, including— 9 (i) patient access to telehealth services 10 in medically underserved communities; or 11 (ii) individuals receiving telehealth 12 services through Federally qualified health 13 centers (as defined in section 1861(aa)(4) 14 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 15 1395x(aa)(4)) or rural health clinics (as 16 defined in section 1861(aa)(2) of such Act 17 (42 U.S.C. 1395x(aa)(2))) serving as origi- 18 nating sites or distant sites, and any chal- 19 lenges for providers furnishing telehealth 20 services in these communities; 21 (B) health care quality for individuals con- 22 firmed or suspected to have COVID–19 and in- 23 dividuals seeking care unrelated to COVID–19 24 as measured by— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:35 Aug 10, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4289.IS S4289 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 4289 IS (i) quality of care metrics, such as 1 hospital readmission rates, missed appoint- 2 ment rates, or wellness visits, and 3 (ii) engagement metrics, such as vol- 4 untary patient satisfaction surveys and vol- 5 untary provider satisfaction surveys; 6 (C) audio-only telehealth utilization rates 7 when other video-based telehealth was not an 8 option or any other telehealth services that were 9 not provided in real-time (including text-mes- 10 saging or through online chat platforms), the 11 types of visits, and the types of providers treat- 12 ing individuals; 13 (D) telehealth utilization rates used to 14 treat individuals across State lines; 15 (E) the health outcomes of any individual 16 who utilizes telehealth services to treat an un- 17 derlying health condition such as diabetes, end- 18 stage renal disease, chronic lung disease, ob- 19 structive pulmonary disease, coronary artery 20 disease, or cirrhosis and the types of technology 21 utilized to receive care, including text-mes- 22 saging, online chat platforms, audio-only, or 23 video conferencing; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:35 Aug 10, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4289.IS S4289 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 4289 IS (F) the health outcomes of any individual 1 who utilizes mental or behavioral health care 2 and substance use disorder treatment services, 3 and the types of technology utilized to receive 4 care, including text-messaging, online chat plat- 5 forms, audio-only, or video conferencing; 6 (G) the impact of State and Federal pri- 7 vacy and security protections on the delivery of 8 care and patient safety, including the security 9 of the various technologies utilized to deliver or 10 receive telehealth care; 11 (H) how telehealth access differs by race, 12 ethnicity, or income levels; 13 (I) the types of technologies utilized to de- 14 liver or receive telehealth care, including Zoom, 15 Skype, FaceTime, text messaging, online chat 16 platforms, or other technologies, as observed by 17 the Secretary, and utilization rates, disaggre- 18 gated by type of technology (as applicable); 19 (J) the investments necessary for providers 20 to develop a platform to effectively provide tele- 21 health services to their patients, including the 22 costs of the necessary technology and the costs 23 of training staff; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:35 Aug 10, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4289.IS S4289 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 4289 IS (K) any additional information determined 1 appropriate by the Secretary. 2 (2) BROADBAND AVAILABILITY DATA.—Upon 3 request by the Secretary, the Assistant Secretary of 4 Commerce for Communications and Information and 5 the Federal Communications Commission shall pro- 6 vide the Secretary any relevant data regarding the 7 availability of broadband internet access service (as 8 defined in section 801 of the Communications Act of 9 1934 (47 U.S.C. 641)) for the purposes of com- 10 pleting the report under paragraph (1). 11 (b) INTERIM REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 12 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec- 13 retary shall submit to the Committees on Finance and 14 Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate and 15 the Committees on Ways and Means and Energy and 16 Commerce of the House of Representatives an interim re- 17 port on the impact of telehealth based on the data col- 18 lected and analyzed under subsection (a). For the pur- 19 poses of the interim report, the Secretary may determine 20 which data collected and analyzed under subsection (a) is 21 most appropriate to complete such report. 22 (c) FINAL REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 23 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec- 24 retary shall submit to the Committees on Finance and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:35 Aug 10, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4289.IS S4289 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 4289 IS Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate and 1 the Committees on Ways and Means and Energy and 2 Commerce of the House of Representatives a final report 3 on the impact of telehealth based on the data collected 4 and analyzed under subsection (a) that includes— 5 (1) conclusions regarding the impact of tele- 6 health services on health care delivery during the 7 COVID–19 public health emergency; and 8 (2) an estimation for total Medicare spending 9 on telehealth services, including total spending for 10 each specific type of service for which Medicare re- 11 imbursed. 12 (d) STAKEHOLDER INPUT.— 13 (1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of subsections 14 (a), (b), and (c), the Secretary shall seek input from 15 the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission, the 16 Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commis- 17 sion and nongovernmental stakeholders, including 18 patient organizations, providers, and experts in tele- 19 health. 20 (2) COMMENT PERIOD.—For the purposes of 21 this subsection, the Secretary shall establish a com- 22 ment period not later than 14 days after the date of 23 enactment of this Act. 24 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:35 Aug 10, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S4289.IS S4289 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS