Protect Telehealth Access Act of 2020

Protect Telehealth Access Act of 2020

This bill modifies requirements relating to coverage of telehealth services under Medicare. Specifically, the bill removes restrictions that require the originating site (i.e., the location of the beneficiary) to be in a rural area, and allows the home of a beneficiary to serve as the originating site for all services (rather than for only certain services).

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7391 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 7391

   To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to remove certain 
   geographic and originating site restrictions on the furnishing of 
            telehealth services under the Medicare program.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 26, 2020

    Ms. Sherrill (for herself, Mr. Kevin Hern of Oklahoma, and Mr. 
  Schrader) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                    Committee on Financial Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to remove certain 
   geographic and originating site restrictions on the furnishing of 
            telehealth services under the Medicare program.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Protect Telehealth Access Act of 
2020''.

SEC. 2. REMOVING CERTAIN GEOGRAPHIC AND ORIGINATING SITE RESTRICTIONS 
              ON THE FURNISHING OF TELEHEALTH SERVICES UNDER THE 
              MEDICARE PROGRAM.

    (a) In General.--Section 1834(m)(4)(C) of the Social Security Act 
(42 U.S.C. 1395m(m)(4)(C)) is amended--
            (1) in clause (i), by striking ``and only if'' and all that 
        follows through the period at the end and inserting a period; 
        and
            (2) in clause (ii)(X), by striking ``, but only for'' and 
        all that follows through the period at the end and inserting a 
        period.
    (b) Conforming Amendments.--Section 1834(m) of the Social Security 
Act (42 U.S.C. 1395m(m)), as amended by subsection (a), is further 
amended--
            (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ``paragraph (8)'' and 
        inserting ``paragraph (6)'';
            (2) in paragraph (2)--
                    (A) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``paragraph 
                (8)'' and inserting ``paragraph (6)''; and
                    (B) in subparagraph (B)(i), by striking ``paragraph 
                (6)(C)'' and inserting ``paragraph (5)(B)'';
            (3) in paragraph (4)--
                    (A) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``paragraph 
                (8)'' and inserting ``paragraph (6)'';
                    (B) in subparagraph (C)(i), by striking 
                ``paragraphs (5), (6), and (7)'' and inserting 
                ``paragraph (5)''; and
                    (C) in subparagraph (F)(i), by striking ``paragraph 
                (8)'' and inserting ``paragraph (6)'';
            (4) by striking paragraph (5);
            (5) in paragraph (6)--
                    (A) by redesignating such paragraph as paragraph 
                (5);
                    (B) by striking subparagraph (A);
                    (C) by redesignating subparagraphs (B) and (C) as 
                subparagraphs (A) and (B), respectively; and
                    (D) in subparagraph (A), as so redesignated, by 
                striking ``described in subparagraph (A)'' and 
                inserting ``furnished on or after January 1, 2019, for 
                purposes of diagnosis, evaluation, or treatment of 
                symptoms of an acute stroke, as determined by the 
                Secretary'';
            (6) by striking paragraph (7); and
            (7) by redesignating paragraph (8) as paragraph (6).
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