I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 5257 

To direct the Federal Communications Commission to establish a program 

to be known as the ‘‘Expanding Telehealth Program’’. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

NOVEMBER 22, 2019 

Mr. COX of California introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Energy and Commerce 

A BILL 

To direct the Federal Communications Commission to establish a program to be known as the ‘‘Expanding Telehealth Program’’. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Telehealth Expansion 

5 Act of 2019’’. 

6 SEC. 2. EXPANDING TELEHEALTH PROGRAM. 

7 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 90 days after 

8 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Commission 

9 shall establish a program to be known as the ‘‘Expanding 

10 Telehealth Program’’. 


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1 (b) PURPOSES OF PROGRAM.—The purposes of the 

2 Program are— 

3 (1) to support connected care services for low4 income individuals, individuals residing in rural 

5 areas, and veterans through telehealth services and 

6 health care providers; 

7 (2) to defray the costs of internet services to 

8 health care providers to provide connected care serv9 ices to low-income individuals, individuals residing in 

10 rural areas, and veterans with conditions such as be11 havioral health conditions, opioid dependency, chron12 ic health conditions (such as diabetes, kidney dis13 ease, heart disease, stroke recovery, and traumatic 

14 brain injury), mental health conditions, cancer, and 

15 high-risk pregnancies; 

16 (3) to promote innovative telehealth services 

17 technologies by empowering health care providers to 

18 connect directly with patients; and 

19 (4) to gather data and information on medical 

20 conditions, transitions of care services, telehealth 

21 services, and health care provider resources or needs 

22 that may be considered in potential reforms needed 

23 to improve the efficiency or effectiveness of the Pro24 gram. 


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1 (c) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 1 year 

2 after the establishment of the Program, the Commission 

3 shall submit to congressional committees of jurisdiction a 

4 report on the impacts of the Program on access to health 

5 care services, improvements in the health status of pa6 tients, and the cost-effectiveness of the Program. The re7 port shall also include recommendations to Congress on 

8 policy reforms needed or ways to improve telehealth serv9 ices, including telehealth services provided to low-income 

10 individuals, individuals residing in rural areas, veterans, 

11 and other underserved populations. 

12 (d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

13 (1) COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commission’’ 

14 means the Federal Communications Commission. 

15 (2) INTERNET SERVICE.—The term ‘‘internet 

16 service’’ has the meaning given the term ‘‘broadband 

17 internet access service’’ in section 8.1(b) of title 47, 

18 Code of Federal Regulations (or any successor regu19 lation). 

20 (3) PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘Program’’ means 

21 the Expanding Telehealth Program established 

22 under subsection (a). 

23 (4) TRANSITIONS OF CARE SERVICES.—The 

24 term ‘‘transitions of care services’’ means the move25 ment of a patient from one setting of care to anVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:42 Dec 06, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5257.IH H5257

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1 other setting of care, including settings of care such 

2 as hospitals, ambulatory primary care practices, am3 bulatory specialty care practices, long-term care fa4 cilities, home health, and rehabilitation facilities. 

Æ 


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