II 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3988 

To amend the Public Health Service Act with respect to telehealth 

enhancements for emergency response. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 17, 2020 

Mr. CASSIDY (for himself, Ms. SMITH, Mr. JONES, and Mr. SULLIVAN) 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 with respect to 

telehealth enhancements for emergency response. 

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 ‘‘Enhancing Prepared5 ness through Telehealth Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. TELEHEALTH ENHANCEMENTS FOR EMERGENCY 

7 RESPONSE. 

8 Subsection (e) of section 319D of the Public Health 

9 Service Act (42 U.S.C. 247d–4) is amended to read as 

10 follows: 


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1 ‘‘(e) TELEHEALTH ENHANCEMENTS FOR EMER2 GENCY RESPONSE.— 

3 ‘‘(1) EVALUATION.—The Secretary, in consulta4 tion with the Federal Communications Commission 

5 and other relevant Federal agencies, shall, every 5 

6 years— 

7 ‘‘(A) conduct an inventory of telehealth ini8 tiatives in existence on the date of enactment of 

9 the Enhancing Preparedness through Tele10 health Act, including the— 

11 ‘‘(i) specific location of networks and 

12 health information technology infrastruc13 ture that support such initiatives; 

14 ‘‘(ii) medical, technological, and com15 munications capabilities of such initiatives; 

16 ‘‘(iii) functionality of such initiatives; 

17 and 

18 ‘‘(iv) capacity and ability of such ini19 tiatives to handle increased volume during 

20 the response to a public health emergency; 

21 ‘‘(B) identify methods to expand and inter22 connect the State and regional health informa23 tion networks funded by the Secretary, the 

24 State and regional broadband networks funded 

25 by the Federal Communications Commission, 


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1 including such networks supported by the rural 

2 health care support mechanism pilot program, 

3 and other telehealth networks; 

4 ‘‘(C) evaluate ways to prepare for, monitor, 

5 respond rapidly to, or manage the events of, a 

6 public health emergency through the enhanced 

7 use of telehealth technologies, including— 

8 ‘‘(i) mechanisms for payment or reim9 bursement for use of such technologies and 

10 personnel during public health emer11 gencies; 

12 ‘‘(ii) the use of telehealth technologies 

13 and services by health care providers in re14 cent public health emergencies; 

15 ‘‘(iii) ways in which States used tele16 health technologies and services in State 

17 responses to public health emergencies; 

18 and 

19 ‘‘(iv) infrastructure and resource 

20 needs to ensure providers have the nec21 essary tools, training, and technical assist22 ance to provide telehealth services; 

23 ‘‘(D) identify methods for reducing legal 

24 barriers that deter health care professionals 

25 from providing telehealth services, such as by 


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1 utilizing State emergency health care profes2 sional credentialing verification systems, en3 couraging States to establish and implement 

4 mechanisms to improve interstate medical licen5 sure cooperation, facilitating the exchange of in6 formation among States regarding investiga7 tions and adverse actions, and encouraging 

8 States to waive the application of licensing re9 quirements during a public health emergency; 

10 ‘‘(E) evaluate ways to integrate the prac11 tice of telehealth within the National Disaster 

12 Medical System or any recent actions taken re13 lated to such integration; 

14 ‘‘(F) promote greater coordination among 

15 existing Federal interagency telehealth and 

16 health information technology initiatives; and 

17 ‘‘(G) make recommendations related to up18 dates on the use of telehealth in public health 

19 emergencies in Federal and State public health 

20 preparedness plans and any actions taken to 

21 implement such recommendations. 

22 ‘‘(2) REPORT.— 

23 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.— 

24 ‘‘(i) INITIAL REPORT.—Not later than 

25 1 year after the date of enactment of the 


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1 Enhancing Preparedness through Tele2 health Act, the Secretary shall prepare and 

3 submit a report to the Committee on 

4 Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of 

5 the Senate and the Committee on Energy 

6 and Commerce of the House of Represent7 atives regarding the findings and rec8 ommendations pursuant to paragraph (1). 

9 ‘‘(ii) SUBSEQUENT REPORTS.—The 

10 Secretary shall submit updated reports de11 scribed in clause (i) to the committees de12 scribed in such clause not later than Janu13 ary 1, 2023, and every 5 years thereafter. 

14 ‘‘(B) CONSIDERATIONS.—In preparing the 

15 reports under subparagraph (A), the Secretary 

16 shall take into consideration potential barriers 

17 to the adoption of telehealth by patients and 

18 providers during a public health emergency, in19 cluding— 

20 ‘‘(i) provider reimbursement; 

21 ‘‘(ii) insurance coverage; 

22 ‘‘(iii) provider licensure; 

23 ‘‘(iv) accessibility of telehealth and re24 mote technologies; and 


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1 ‘‘(v) concerns around violating rel2 evant privacy, security, and patient safety 

3 regulations.’’. 

Æ 


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