A bipartisan group of House lawmakers has introduced a bill that would expand telemedicine coverage for Medicare and Medicaid patients, and adjust payments for certain telehealth services.
The “Telehealth Enhancement Act of 2013,” introduced by Reps. Gregg Harper (R-Miss.), Mike Thompson (D-Calif.), Devin Nunes (R-Calif.), and Peter Welch (D-Vt.) on Oct. 23, builds on existing payment innovations, according to a news release from Harper’s office. Among other reforms, the bill adjusts Medicare home health payments to account for remote patient monitoring and expands coverage to all critical access and sole community hospitals, regardless of metropolitan status. The package also covers home-based video services for hospice care, home dialysis, and homebound beneficiaries.
“These efforts began with a conversation about physician shortages and concerns with patients’ access to quality and affordable health care,” the authors said in a letter urging their colleagues to cosponsor the bill. “Until we are able to attract more physicians to rural communities and tighten the access gap, the next best alternative is to use technology to connect health professionals with underserved populations – rural and urban – through telehealth networks.”
Under the bill, states will also have the option of setting up high-risk pregnancy networks within their Medicaid programs. This model centers on the success of state programs, notably Arkansas ANGELS, to use telehealth for the coordination and improvement of at-risk births and neonatal care.
The bill, H.R. 3306, has been referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce and the House Committee on Ways and Means.