II 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 2110 

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, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 17, 2021 

Mr. KENNEDY 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, 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, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Increasing Rural Tele5 health Access Act of 2021’’. 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
2 

•S 2110 IS

1 SEC. 2. INCREASING RURAL TELEHEALTH ACCESS. 

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

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

4 amended— 

5 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (6) and (7) as 

6 paragraphs (7) and (8), respectively; and 

7 (2) by inserting after paragraph (5), the fol8 lowing: 

9 ‘‘(6) REMOTE PATIENT MONITORING TECH10 NOLOGY.—The term ‘remote patient monitoring 

11 technology’ means digital technologies used to collect 

12 medical and other forms of health data from individ13 uals in one location and electronically transmit such 

14 data securely to health care providers in a different 

15 location for assessment, recommendations, and inter16 ventions.’’. 

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

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

19 amended— 

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

21 under section 301’’ and inserting the following: 

22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall estab23 lish, under section 301’’; and 

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

25 paragraph: 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
3 

•S 2110 IS

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

2 Secretary shall establish a virtual health pilot pro3 gram to facilitate utilization of remote patient moni4 toring technology to maintain or expand access to 

5 health care services for individuals in rural areas.’’. 

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

7 Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 254c–14) is amend8 ed by adding at the end the following new paragraph: 

9 ‘‘(3) VIRTUAL HEALTH NETWORK PILOT PRO10 GRAM GRANTS.—The Director shall, in carrying out 

11 the virtual health pilot program referred to in sub12 section (b)(2), award grants to eligible entities to fa13 cilitate utilization of remote patient monitoring tech14 nology in rural areas to— 

15 ‘‘(A) maintain or expand access to, and co16 ordinate health care services for, individuals 

17 with chronic conditions; 

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

19 health care providers using remote patient mon20 itoring technology; and 

21 ‘‘(C) minimize challenges facing health 

22 care providers and health care facilities, includ23 ing rural health clinics, community health cen24 ters, community behavioral health centers, long25 term care facilities, and rural hospitals, as such 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
4 

•S 2110 IS

1 providers and facilities serve their commu2 nities.’’. 

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

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

5 amended— 

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

7 grants under this section’’ and inserting the fol8 lowing: 

9 ‘‘(1) TELEHEALTH NETWORK AND TELE10 HEALTH RESEARCH CENTER GRANTS.—The Director 

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

12 subsection (d)’’; and 

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

14 paragraph: 

15 ‘‘(2) VIRTUAL HEALTH NETWORK PILOT PRO16 GRAM GRANTS.—The Director shall— 

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

18 of enactment of Increasing Rural Telehealth 

19 Access Act of 2021, issue a notice of the avail20 ability of funding through grants under sub21 section (d)(3); and 

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

23 of issuance of the notice required by subpara24 graph (A), award all grants under subsection 

25 (d)(3).’’. 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
5 

•S 2110 IS

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— 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
6 

•S 2110 IS

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 

25 the health care needs of rural or other popuVerDate Sep 11 2014 06:33 Jun 24, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2110.IS S2110

kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
7 

•S 2110 IS

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 

25 furnish services using remote patient moniVerDate Sep 11 2014 06:33 Jun 24, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2110.IS S2110

kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
8 

•S 2110 IS

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 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
9 

•S 2110 IS

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; 

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 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
10 

•S 2110 IS

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 until expended.’’. 

12 (j) REPORT.—Not later than 2 years after awarding 

13 all grants under subsection (d)(3) of section 330I of the 

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

15 Secretary of Health and Human Services shall prepare 

16 and submit to the Committee on Energy and Commerce 

17 of the House of Representatives and the Committee on 

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

19 report on the activities and outcomes of the pilot program 

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

21 added by this section. 

Æ 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS