II 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3951 

To amend the Public Health Service Act to provide for the establishment 

of a virtual health pilot program to facilitate utilization of remote patient 

monitoring technology to maintain or expand access to health care services for individuals in rural areas during the COVID–19 emergency 

period, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 11, 2020 

Ms. MCSALLY (for herself and Mr. JONES) introduced the following bill; which 

was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, 

Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To amend the Public Health Service Act to provide for 

the establishment of a virtual health pilot program to 

facilitate utilization of remote patient monitoring technology to maintain or expand access to health care services for individuals in rural areas during the COVID– 

19 emergency period, and for other purposes. 

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


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Increasing Rural 

3 Health Access During the COVID–19 Public Health 

4 Emergency Act of 2020’’. 

5 SEC. 2. INCREASING RURAL HEALTH ACCESS DURING THE 

6 COVID–19 PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY. 

7 (a) DEFINITIONS.—Subsection (a) of section 330I of 

8 the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 254c–14) is 

9 amended— 

10 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (1) through 

11 (7) as paragraphs (2), (3), (4), (5), (6), (8), and 

12 (9), respectively; 

13 (2) by inserting before paragraph (2), as redes14 ignated, the following new paragraph: 

15 ‘‘(1) COVID–19 EMERGENCY PERIOD.—The 

16 term ‘COVID–19 emergency period’ means the pe17 riod beginning on the date of enactment of the In18 creasing Rural Health Access During the COVID– 

19 19 Public Health Emergency Act of 2020 and end20 ing on the date on which the national emergency de21 clared by the President under the National Emer22 gencies Act with respect to the COVID–19 outbreak 

23 in the United States expires.’’; and 

24 (3) by inserting before paragraph (8), as redes25 ignated, the following: 


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1 ‘‘(7) REMOTE PATIENT MONITORING TECH2 NOLOGY.—The term ‘remote patient monitoring 

3 technology’ means digital technologies used to collect 

4 medical and other forms of health data from individ5 uals in one location and electronically transmit such 

6 data securely to health care providers in a different 

7 location for assessment, recommendations, and inter8 ventions.’’. 

9 (b) PROGRAMS.—Subsection (b) of section 330I of 

10 the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 254c–14) is 

11 amended— 

12 (1) by striking ‘‘The Secretary shall establish, 

13 under section 301’’ and inserting the following: 

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall estab15 lish, under section 301’’; and 

16 (2) by adding at the end the following new 

17 paragraph: 

18 ‘‘(2) VIRTUAL HEALTH PILOT PROGRAM.—The 

19 Secretary shall establish a virtual health pilot pro20 gram to facilitate utilization of remote patient moni21 toring technology to maintain or expand access to 

22 health care services for individuals in rural areas 

23 during the COVID–19 emergency period.’’. 


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1 (c) GRANTS.—Subsection (d) of section 330I of the 

2 Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 254c–14) is amend3 ed by adding at the end the following new paragraph: 

4 ‘‘(3) VIRTUAL HEALTH NETWORK PILOT PRO5 GRAM GRANTS.—The Director shall, in carrying out 

6 the virtual health pilot program referred to in sub7 section (b)(2), award grants to eligible entities to fa8 cilitate utilization of remote patient monitoring tech9 nology in rural areas to— 

10 ‘‘(A) maintain or expand access to, and co11 ordinate health care services for, individuals 

12 with chronic conditions; 

13 ‘‘(B) improve and expand the training of 

14 health care providers using remote patient mon15 itoring technology; and 

16 ‘‘(C) minimize challenges facing health 

17 care providers and health care facilities, includ18 ing rural health clinics, community health cen19 ters, community behavioral health centers, long20 term care facilities, and rural hospitals, as such 

21 providers and facilities serve their communities 

22 especially during the COVID–19 emergency pe23 riod.’’. 


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1 (d) GRANT PERIODS.—Subsection (e) of section 330I 

2 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 254c–14) is 

3 amended— 

4 (1) by striking ‘‘The Director may award 

5 grants under this section’’ and inserting the fol6 lowing: 

7 ‘‘(1) TELEHEALTH NETWORK AND TELE8 HEALTH RESEARCH CENTER GRANTS.—The Director 

9 may award grants under paragraphs (1) and (2) of 

10 subsection (d)’’; and 

11 (2) by adding at the end the following new 

12 paragraph: 

13 ‘‘(2) VIRTUAL HEALTH NETWORK PILOT PRO14 GRAM GRANTS.—The Director shall— 

15 ‘‘(A) not later than 30 days after the date 

16 of enactment of Increasing Rural Health Access 

17 During the COVID–19 Public Health Emer18 gency Act of 2020, issue a notice of the avail19 ability of funding through grants under sub20 section (d)(3); and 

21 ‘‘(B) not later than 90 days after the date 

22 of issuance of the notice required by subpara23 graph (A), award all grants under subsection 

24 (d)(3).’’. 


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1 (e) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—Subsection (f) of section 

2 330I of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 254c– 

3 14) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

4 ‘‘(4) VIRTUAL HEALTH NETWORK PILOT PRO5 GRAM GRANTS.—To be eligible to receive a grant 

6 under subsection (d)(3), an entity shall— 

7 ‘‘(A) meet the requirements of paragraphs 

8 (1), (2), and (3) of this subsection that apply 

9 to an entity seeking a grant under subsection 

10 (d)(1); 

11 ‘‘(B) be located in a rural area; and 

12 ‘‘(C) demonstrate that the entity will pro13 vide services using remote patient monitoring 

14 technology that is— 

15 ‘‘(i) cellular enabled; 

16 ‘‘(ii) approved, cleared, or authorized 

17 by the Food and Drug Administration; and 

18 ‘‘(iii) operable using cellular stand19 ards, including 2G and 3G, that offer 

20 broad network coverage in rural areas 

21 without broadband access, as determined 

22 by the Secretary.’’. 

23 (f) APPLICATIONS.—Subsection (g) of section 330I of 

24 the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 254c–14) is 

25 amended— 


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1 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (1) through 

2 (8) as subparagraphs (A) through (H), respectively, 

3 and moving the margin of each such redesignated 

4 subparagraph 2 ems to the right; 

5 (2) by striking ‘‘To be eligible to receive a grant 

6 under subsection (d)’’ and inserting the following: 

7 ‘‘(1) TELEHEALTH NETWORK AND TELE8 HEALTH RESEARCH CENTER GRANTS.—To be eligi9 ble to receive a grant under paragraph (1) or (2) of 

10 subsection (d)’’; and 

11 (3) by adding at the end the following new 

12 paragraph: 

13 ‘‘(2) VIRTUAL HEALTH NETWORK PILOT PRO14 GRAM GRANTS.—To be eligible to receive a grant 

15 under subsection (d)(3), an eligible entity shall pre16 pare and submit to the Secretary an application at 

17 such time, in such manner, and containing such in18 formation as the Secretary may require and include 

19 in such application— 

20 ‘‘(A) a description of the project that the 

21 eligible entity will carry out using the funds 

22 provided under the grant; 

23 ‘‘(B) a description of the manner in which 

24 the project funded under the grant will meet 

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1 lations to be served through the project, or 

2 maintain or improve access to services of, and 

3 the quality of the services received by, those 

4 populations; 

5 ‘‘(C) information on the source and 

6 amount of non-Federal funds that the entity 

7 will provide for the project; and 

8 ‘‘(D) evidence of intent to provide services 

9 using remote patient monitoring technology as 

10 described in subsection (f)(4)(C).’’. 

11 (g) PREFERENCES.—Subsection (h) of section 330I 

12 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 254c–14) is 

13 amended by adding at the end the following new para14 graph: 

15 ‘‘(3) VIRTUAL HEALTH NETWORK PILOT PRO16 GRAM GRANTS.—In awarding grants under sub17 section (d)(3), the Secretary shall give preference to 

18 any eligible entity that— 

19 ‘‘(A) is able to establish a virtual health 

20 program using remote patient monitoring tech21 nology within 60 days of receipt of the award; 

22 and 

23 ‘‘(B) proposes to use Federal funds made 

24 available through such a grant to establish and 

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1 toring technology that provides real time, con2 tinuous coaching services.’’. 

3 (h) USE OF FUNDS.—Subsection (j) of section 330I 

4 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 254c–14) is 

5 amended by adding at the end the following new para6 graph: 

7 ‘‘(3) VIRTUAL HEALTH NETWORK PILOT PRO8 GRAM GRANTS.—The recipient of a grant under sub9 section (d)(3) may use funds received through such 

10 grant for salaries, equipment, and operating or other 

11 costs for— 

12 ‘‘(A) developing and delivering services 

13 using remote patient monitoring technology 

14 that enhance access to community-based health 

15 care services in rural areas; 

16 ‘‘(B) developing and acquiring, through 

17 lease or purchase, computer hardware and soft18 ware, audio and video equipment, computer net19 work equipment, interactive equipment, data 

20 terminal equipment, and other equipment that 

21 furthers the objectives of the virtual health pilot 

22 program; 

23 ‘‘(C)(i) providing for transmission of med24 ical data, and maintenance of equipment; and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) providing for compensation (including 

2 travel expenses) of specialists, and referring 

3 health care providers, who are providing virtual 

4 health services through remote patient moni5 toring technology if no third-party payment is 

6 available; and 

7 ‘‘(D) collecting and analyzing usage statis8 tics and data to document the cost-effectiveness 

9 of services using remote patient monitoring 

10 technology; and 

11 ‘‘(E) carrying out such other activities as 

12 are consistent with achieving the objectives of 

13 the virtual health pilot program, as determined 

14 by the Secretary.’’. 

15 (i) FUNDING.—Subsection (q) of section 330I of the 

16 Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 254c–14) is amend17 ed— 

18 (1) in the subsection heading, by striking ‘‘AU19 THORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS’’ and inserting 

20 ‘‘FUNDING’’; 

21 (2) by striking ‘‘There are authorized to be ap22 propriated to carry out this section’’ and inserting 

23 the following: 

24 ‘‘(1) TELEHEALTH NETWORK AND TELE25 HEALTH RESEARCH CENTER GRANTS.—To carry out 


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1 this section with respect to grants under paragraphs 

2 (1) and (2) of subsection (d), there is authorized to 

3 be appropriated’’; and 

4 (3) by adding at the end the following new 

5 paragraph: 

6 ‘‘(2) VIRTUAL HEALTH NETWORK PILOT PRO7 GRAM GRANTS.—To carry out this section with re8 spect to the virtual health pilot program under sub9 section (b)(2), including grants under subsection 

10 (d)(3), there is authorized to be appropriated 

11 $50,000,000, to remain available through the end of 

12 the COVID–19 emergency period.’’. 

13 (j) REPORT.—Not later than two years after award14 ing all grants under subsection (d)(3) of section 330I of 

15 the Public Health Service Act, as added by this section, 

16 the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall prepare 

17 and submit to the Committee on Energy and Commerce 

18 of the House of Representatives and the Committee on 

19 Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate a 

20 report on the activities and outcomes of the pilot program 

21 under subsection (b)(2) of section 330I of such Act, as 

22 added by this section. 

Æ 


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