II 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3741 

To require group health plans and health insurance issuers offering group 

or individual health insurance coverage to provide coverage for services 

furnished via telehealth if such services would be covered if furnished 

in person during the COVID–19 emergency. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 14, 2020 

Ms. SMITH (for herself, Ms. STABENOW, Mr. CARDIN, Mr. CASEY, Mr. 

UDALL, Mrs. SHAHEEN, Ms. HARRIS, Ms. KLOBUCHAR, and Mr. MARKEY) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to 

the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To require group health plans and health insurance issuers 

offering group or individual health insurance coverage 

to provide coverage for services furnished via telehealth 

if such services would be covered if furnished in person 

during the COVID–19 emergency. 

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 ‘‘Health Care at Home 

5 Act of 2020’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. REQUIRING GROUP HEALTH PLANS AND HEALTH 

2 INSURANCE ISSUERS OFFERING GROUP OR 

3 INDIVIDUAL HEALTH INSURANCE COVERAGE 

4 TO PROVIDE COVERAGE FOR SERVICES FUR5 NISHED VIA TELEHEALTH IF SUCH SERVICES 

6 WOULD BE COVERED IF FURNISHED IN PER7 SON DURING THE COVID–19 EMERGENCY. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—During any portion of the emer9 gency period described in section 1135(g)(1)(B) of the So10 cial Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1320b–5(g)(1)(B)), notwith11 standing sections 2703 and 2715(d)(4) of the Public 

12 Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300gg–2, 300gg–15(d)(4)), 

13 a group health plan and a health insurance issuer offering 

14 group health insurance coverage, including a grand15 fathered health plan (as defined in section 1251(e) of the 

16 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (42 U.S.C. 

17 18011(e)))— 

18 (1) shall— 

19 (A) provide benefits under such plan or 

20 such coverage for any eligible service (as de21 fined in subsection (c)), including a mental 

22 health and substance use disorder service, fur23 nished via a qualifying telecommunications sys24 tem (as defined in subsection (c)) by a health 

25 care provider to an individual who is a partici26 pant, beneficiary, or enrollee under such plan or 


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1 such coverage, notwithstanding that such pro2 vider furnishing such service is not at the same 

3 location as the individual; 

4 (B) so provide such benefits for such serv5 ice under the same terms and with application 

6 of the same cost-sharing requirements (includ7 ing a deductible, copayment, or coinsurance) as 

8 would apply if such service were furnished by 

9 such provider to such individual in person; 

10 (C) reimburse such provider for such serv11 ice in an amount equal to the amount of reim12 bursement for such service had such service 

13 been furnished by such provider to such indi14 vidual in person; 

15 (D) not impose any requirement under 

16 such plan or coverage that such provider have 

17 a prior relationship with such individual; and 

18 (E) not restrict the ability of any health 

19 care provider with a contractual relationship for 

20 furnishing an eligible service under such plan or 

21 coverage from furnishing such service via a 

22 qualifying telecommunications system, and shall 

23 not establish incentives or penalties under such 

24 plan or coverage for receiving such an eligible 


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1 service from such a provider via such a system; 

2 and 

3 (2) may waive any cost-sharing requirement 

4 (including application of a deductible, copayment, or 

5 coinsurance) for an item or service furnished for 

6 purposes of diagnosing or treating COVID–19, in7 cluding any such service that is an eligible service 

8 furnished via a qualifying telecommunications sys9 tem. 

10 (b) APPLICATION.—The provisions of this section 

11 shall be applied by the Secretary of Health and Human 

12 Services, Secretary of Labor, and Secretary of the Treas13 ury to group health plans and health insurance issuers of14 fering group or individual health insurance coverage as if 

15 included in the provisions of part A of title XXVII of the 

16 Public Health Service Act, part 7 of the Employee Retire17 ment Income Security Act of 1974, and subchapter B of 

18 chapter 100 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as ap19 plicable. 

20 (c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

21 (1) ELIGIBLE SERVICE.—The term ‘‘eligible 

22 service’’ means, with respect to a group health plan 

23 and a health insurance issuer offering group or indi24 vidual health insurance coverage, a service— 


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1 (A) for which benefits are provided under 

2 such plan or such coverage when such service is 

3 furnished in person; 

4 (B) that is medically necessary (as deter5 mined by the health care provider furnishing 

6 such service); and 

7 (C) that is able to be safely and effectively 

8 furnished via a telecommunications system. 

9 (2) HEALTH INSURANCE TERMS.—The terms 

10 ‘‘group health plan’’, ‘‘health insurance issuer’’, 

11 ‘‘group health insurance coverage’’, and ‘‘individual 

12 health insurance coverage’’ have the meanings given 

13 such terms in section 2791 of the Public Health 

14 Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300gg–91), section 733 of 

15 the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 

16 1974 (29 U.S.C. 1191b), and section 9832 of the 

17 Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as applicable. 

18 (3) QUALIFYING TELECOMMUNICATIONS SYS19 TEM.—The term ‘‘qualifying telecommunications 

20 system’’ means a telecommunications system that in21 cludes, at a minimum, audio capabilities permitting 

22 two-way, real-time interactive communication be23 tween the individual receiving an eligible service via 

24 such system and the health care provider furnishing 

25 such system, including a telephone, 


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1 videoconferencing system, internet communications 

2 system, streaming media communications system, 

3 and such other systems as specified by the Secretary 

4 of Health and Human Services. 

5 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section shall apply with 

6 respect to items and services furnished on or after the first 

7 day of the emergency period described in subsection (a). 

Æ 


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