I 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 9271 

To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to make permanent certain 

telehealth flexibilities under the Medicare program for telehealth services 

furnished by Indian health programs. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

AUGUST 2, 2024 

Ms. LEGER FERNANDEZ (for herself, Ms. MOORE of Wisconsin, Mr. RUIZ, and 

Mr. GRIJALVA) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee 

on Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the 

Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within 

the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to make 

permanent certain telehealth flexibilities under the Medicare program for telehealth services furnished by Indian 

health programs. 

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 Access for 

5 Tribal Communities Act of 2024’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. MAKING PERMANENT CERTAIN TELEHEALTH 

2 FLEXIBILITIES UNDER THE MEDICARE PRO3 GRAM FOR TELEHEALTH SERVICES FUR4 NISHED BY INDIAN HEALTH PROGRAMS. 

5 Section 1834(m) of the Social Security Act (42 

6 U.S.C. 1395m(m)) is amended— 

7 (1) in paragraph (4)(C)(iii)— 

8 (A) by striking ‘‘In the case’’ and inserting 

9 the following: 

10 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—In the case’’; 

11 and 

12 (B) by adding at the end the following new 

13 subclause: 

14 ‘‘(II) SPECIAL RULE FOR SERV15 ICES FURNISHED BY INDIAN HEALTH

16 PROGRAMS.—With respect to tele17 health services identified in subpara18 graph (F)(i) as of the date of the en19 actment of this clause furnished on or 

20 after January 1, 2025, by an Indian 

21 health program (as defined in section 

22 4 of the Indian Health Care Improve23 ment Act) or by an urban Indian or24 ganization (as so defined), or by a 

25 physician or practitioner employed by 

26 or under contract with such a proVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:48 Sep 05, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H9271.IH H9271

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1 gram or organization, to an eligible 

2 telehealth individual, the term ‘origi3 nating site’ means any site in the 

4 United States at which the eligible 

5 telehealth individual is located at the 

6 time the service is furnished via a 

7 telecommunications system, including 

8 the home of an individual.’’; and 

9 (2) in paragraph (9)— 

10 (A) by striking ‘‘In the case’’ and inserting 

11 the following: 

12 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In the case’’; and 

13 (B) by adding at the end the following new 

14 subparagraph: 

15 ‘‘(B) SPECIAL RULE FOR SERVICES FUR16 NISHED BY INDIAN HEALTH PROGRAMS.—The 

17 Secretary shall provide coverage and payment 

18 under this part for telehealth services identified 

19 in subparagraph (F)(i) as of the date of the en20 actment of this paragraph that are furnished on 

21 or after January 1, 2025, via an audio-only 

22 communications system by an Indian health 

23 program (as defined in section 4 of the Indian 

24 Health Care Improvement Act) or by an urban 

25 Indian organization (as so defined), or by a 


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1 physician or practitioner employed by or under 

2 contract with such a program or organization, 

3 to an eligible telehealth individual. For purposes 

4 of the previous sentence, the term ‘telehealth 

5 service’ means a telehealth service identified as 

6 of the date of the enactment of this paragraph 

7 by a HCPCS code (and any succeeding codes) 

8 for which the Secretary has not applied the re9 quirements of paragraph (1) and the first sen10 tence of section 410.78(a)(3) of title 42, Code 

11 of Federal Regulations, during the emergency 

12 period described in subparagraph (A).’’. 

Æ 


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