Tele-Mental Health Improvement Act

Tele-Mental Health Improvement Act

This bill requires private health insurance plans that cover in-person mental health or substance use disorder services to cover such services on equal terms via telehealth (i.e., information technology used to aid treatment and diagnosis at a physical distance) during the COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) public health emergency. Specifically, this bill requires, among other things, plans to cover such telehealth services at the same rate as in-person services, exclude charges for facility fees, and provide information about how to access such services.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8060 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 8060

 To require parity in the coverage of mental health and substance use 
  disorder services provided to enrollees in private insurance plans, 
  whether such services are provided in-person or through telehealth.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            August 14, 2020

  Mr. Trone (for himself and Mr. Riggleman) introduced the following 
 bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and 
  in addition to the Committees on Ways and Means, and Education and 
 Labor, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in 
   each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the 
                jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To require parity in the coverage of mental health and substance use 
  disorder services provided to enrollees in private insurance plans, 
  whether such services are provided in-person or through telehealth.

    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 ``Tele-Mental Health Improvement 
Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the United States faced 
        a mental health crisis.
            (2) This mental health crisis touches all age groups. 
        Suicide rates among individuals ages 10 through 24 increased by 
        56 percent from 2007 to 2017. More than 25 percent of college 
        students have been diagnosed or treated by a professional for a 
        mental health condition within the past year. Nearly one in 
        five adults in the United States live with a mental illness. 
        Suicide rates for all ages increased from 1999 to 2016.
            (3) The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in large-scale 
        economic hardship and long periods of social isolation for 
        Americans.
            (4) In non-crisis conditions, a 1-point increase in 
        unemployment correlates to a 1.3 percent increase in suicide 
        rates. In April 2020, the unemployment rate increased from 4.4 
        percent to 14.7 percent.
            (5) Exposure to large-scale trauma like the current 
        pandemic commonly results in negative emotional states, acute 
        stress, physical health complaints, and poor sleep, 
        particularly during the initial onset of the trauma.
            (6) People who receive practical and social support and 
        resources soon after the initial onset of a trauma tend to have 
        better outcomes.
            (7) There is an increased need for mental health services 
        to be provided through telehealth platforms due to the 
        necessity for social distancing.

SEC. 3. COVERAGE OF TELEHEALTH MENTAL HEALTH AND SUBSTANCE USE DISORDER 
              SERVICES.

    (a) In General.--During the public health emergency declared by the 
Secretary of Health and Human Services under section 319 of the Public 
Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 247d) on January 31, 2020, with respect 
to COVID-19, if a group health plan or group or individual health 
insurance coverage provides coverage of a mental health or substance 
use disorder service provided in-person, the group health plan or 
health insurance issuer offering such group or individual health 
insurance coverage--
            (1) shall provide coverage of the service provided through 
        telehealth at the same rate as the coverage for the same 
        service provided in-person;
            (2) shall ensure that providers not charge enrollees 
        facility fees;
            (3) may not impose additional barriers on obtaining such 
        coverage for such services through telehealth, compared to 
        coverage for such services provided in-person, such as a prior 
        authorization requirements, a requirement that the enrollee 
        have a pre-existing relationship with the provider, a 
        requirement that a provider be present with the enrollee during 
        the provision of services, or any other financial requirement, 
        treatment limitation, or utilization control policy or 
        procedure;
            (4) shall provide notice to enrollees, informing such 
        enrollees of how to access in-network telehealth mental health 
        and substance use disorder services and the scope of their 
        coverage; and
            (5) shall work with providers to ensure that telehealth 
        services are provided to enrollees in compliance with, as 
        applicable, the privacy regulations promulgated pursuant to 
        section 264(c) of the Health Insurance Portability and 
        Accountability Act of 1996 (42 U.S.C. 1320d-2) or privacy 
        guidelines promulgated and implemented by the Secretary of 
        Health and Human Services during a public health emergency.
    (b) Enforcement.--The provisions of subsection (a) shall be applied 
by the Secretary of Health and Human Services, Secretary of Labor, and 
Secretary of the Treasury to group health plans and health insurance 
issuers offering group or individual health insurance coverage as if 
included in the provisions of part A of title XXVII of the Public 
Health Service Act, part 7 of the Employee Retirement Income Security 
Act of 1974, and subchapter B of chapter 100 of the Internal Revenue 
Code of 1986, as applicable.
    (c) Implementation.--The Secretary of Health and Human Services, 
Secretary of Labor, and Secretary of the Treasury may implement the 
provisions of this section through sub-regulatory guidance, program 
instruction, or otherwise.
    (d) Definitions.--In this section--
            (1) the terms ``group health plan'', ``health insurance 
        issuer'', and ``health insurance coverage'' have the meanings 
        given such terms in section 2791 of the Public Health Service 
        Act (42 U.S.C. 300gg- 91), section 733 of the Employee 
        Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C. 1191b), and 
        section 9832 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as 
        applicable; and
            (2) the term ``telehealth services'' has the meaning given 
        such term in section 330I(a) of the Public Health Service Act 
        (42 U.S.C. 254c-14(a)), and includes 2-way video communication, 
        audio-only communication, and written information shared by 
        phone or email.
    (e) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this section shall prevent 
the application of any State law that is not inconsistent with this 
section.
    (f) Report to Congress.--Not later than 180 days after the 
conclusion of the public health emergency described in subsection (a), 
the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall submit to the 
Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate, the 
Committee on Education and Labor of the House of Representatives, and 
the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives on 
the impacts the requirement under subsection (a) has on the use of both 
telehealth services and health services provided in-person.
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