I 
116TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2508 
To provide for a pilot program to include respiratory therapists as telehealth 
practitioners under the Medicare program. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 2, 2019 
Mr. THOMPSON of California (for himself, Mr. COX of California, Mr. CARTER 
of Georgia, and Mr. KELLY of Pennsylvania) 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 subse-
quently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such 
provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To provide for a pilot program to include respiratory thera-
pists as telehealth practitioners under the Medicare pro-
gram. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Better Respiration 
through Expanding Access to Tele-Health Act’’ or the 
‘‘BREATHE Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. PILOT PROGRAM FOR INCLUDING RESPIRATORY 
THERAPISTS 
AS 
TELEHEALTH 
PRACTI-
TIONERS UNDER THE MEDICARE PROGRAM. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Beginning not later than 6 
months after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 
Secretary of Health and Human Services shall establish 
a 3-year pilot program under title XVIII of the Social Se-
curity Act with respect to furnishing telehealth disease 
management services to eligible telehealth individuals who 
are diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease 
for purposes of determining the value of including quali-
fying respiratory therapists as telehealth practitioners 
under the Medicare program to improve health outcomes 
for, reduce unnecessary emergency department visits and 
hospital admissions and readmissions of, and lower the 
cost of care provided to such individuals. 
(b) TELEHEALTH ACCESS.—Under the pilot pro-
gram, coverage shall be provided under title XVIII of the 
Social Security Act for telehealth disease management 
services furnished to eligible telehealth individuals who are 
diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease by 
applying section 1834(m) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 
1395m(m)), as if— 
(1) the reference in paragraph (1) of such sec-
tion to ‘‘a practitioner (as described in section 
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1842(b)(18)(C))’’ were a reference to ‘‘a practitioner 
(as defined in paragraph (4)(E))’’; 
(2) paragraph (2)(B) of such section does not 
apply to any site that satisfies the definition of the 
term ‘‘originating site’’ applied pursuant to para-
graph (3) and that would not otherwise be included 
as an originating site without application of such 
paragraph; 
(3) the definition under paragraph (4)(C) of 
such section for the term ‘‘originating site’’ included 
as a site described in clause (ii) of such paragraph 
the place of residence of such individual, regardless 
of whether such place of residence satisfies the con-
ditions described in subclause (I), (II), or (III) of 
clause (i) of such paragraph; 
(4) the definition in paragraph (4)(E) of such 
section for the term ‘‘practitioner’’ included quali-
fying respiratory therapists; and 
(5) the definition in paragraph (4)(F) of such 
section for ‘‘telehealth services’’ included the fol-
lowing HCPCS codes 98960, 94664, 99406, 99407, 
and 99091. 
(c) PAYMENT MODIFIER.—For purposes of the pilot 
program, the Secretary shall establish a payment modifier 
to ensure the collection of data relevant to telehealth dis-
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ease management services furnished directly by a quali-
fying respiratory therapist to eligible telehealth individuals 
who are diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary dis-
ease. 
(d) REPORT.—Not later than one year after the last 
date of the pilot program, the Secretary of Health and 
Human Services shall submit to Congress a report on the 
findings of the program, including if acute care interven-
tions were reduced and the health status of eligible tele-
health individuals who are diagnosed with chronic obstruc-
tive pulmonary disease was improved based on the lower 
utilization of services. 
(e) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section: 
(1) The term ‘‘eligible telehealth individual’’ has 
the meaning given such term in section 1834(m)(4) 
of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395m(m)(4)). 
(2) The term ‘‘qualifying respiratory therapist’’ 
means a respiratory therapist who— 
(A) 
is 
credentialed 
by 
a 
national 
credentialing board recognized by the Secretary 
of Health and Human Services; 
(B) if applicable, is licensed in the State in 
which the therapist furnishes the services in-
volved; 
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(C) holds the credential of Registered Res-
piratory Therapist; and 
(D) has a minimum of a bachelor’s degree 
or other advanced degree in biological or health 
science. 
(3) The term ‘‘telehealth disease management 
services’’ means any of the following disease man-
agement services furnished via a telecommunications 
system by a qualifying respiratory therapist: 
(A) Self-management education and train-
ing. 
(B) Demonstration and evaluation of in-
haler techniques. 
(C) Smoking cessation counseling. 
(D) Remote patient monitoring. 
Æ 
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