I
107TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 3572
To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to provide for coverage
of remote monitoring services under the Medicare Program.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
DECEMBER 20, 2001
Mr. BURR of North Carolina (for himself and Ms. ESHOO) introduced the fol-
lowing bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Com-
merce, and in addition to the Committee on Ways and Means, for a pe-
riod to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for con-
sideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the com-
mittee concerned
A BILL
To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to provide
for coverage of remote monitoring services under the
Medicare Program.
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 ‘‘Medicare Remote Mon-
itoring Services Coverage Act of 2001’’.
SEC. 2. COVERAGE OF REMOTE MONITORING SERVICES.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1861(s)(2) of the Social
Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395x(s)(2)) is amended—
(1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of subpara-
graph (U);
(2) by inserting ‘‘and’’ at the end of subpara-
graph (V); and
(3) by inserting after subparagraph (V) the fol-
lowing new subparagraph:
‘‘(W) remote monitoring services that are—
‘‘(i) determined by the Secretary to provide
comparable data to face-to-face encounter-based
monitoring services (as such terms are defined
in subsection (ww)); and
‘‘(ii) provided to an individual who would
otherwise be entitled to receive coverage under
this title of the face-to-face encounter-based
monitoring service that the Secretary deter-
mines under clause (i) to provide comparable
data to the remote monitoring service;’’.
(b) SERVICES DESCRIBED.—Section 1861 of the So-
cial Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395x) is amended by adding
at the end the following new subsection:
‘‘REMOTE MONITORING SERVICES
‘‘(ww)(1) The term ‘remote monitoring services’
means any service provided through a system of tech-
nology that allows the collection of clinical data and the
transmission of such data between a patient at a distant
location and a physician through a remote interface so
that the physician may conduct a clinical review of such
data or provide a response relating to such data.
‘‘(2) The term ‘face-to-face encounter-based moni-
toring services’ means any in-office or facility-based serv-
ice for which payment may be made under this title with
a code that is specific to the collection of clinical data and
the transmission of such data between a patient and a
physician so that the physician may conduct a clinical re-
view of such data or provide a response relating to such
data.
‘‘(3) For purposes of this subsection, the term ‘dis-
tant location’ means any location that is outside of the
office or the facility of the patient’s physician.
‘‘(4) Coverage of remote monitoring services under
this title with respect to an individual may not be re-
stricted based on the geographic area of residence of the
individual.’’.
(c) PAYMENT UNDER PHYSICIAN FEE SCHEDULE.—
Section 1848 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C.
1395w–4) is amended—
(1) in subsection (c), by adding at the end the
following new paragraph:
‘‘(7) TREATMENT
OF
REMOTE
MONITORING
SERVICES.—
‘‘(A) CONVERSION FACTOR AND RELATIVE
VALUE
UNITS.—The Secretary may not de-
crease the conversion factor or the number of
relative value units applicable to a remote moni-
toring 
service 
(as 
defined 
in 
section
1861(ww)(1)) covered under this title pursuant
to section 1861(s)(2)(W) from the conversion
factor or the number of relative value units ap-
plicable to the face-to-face encounter-based
monitoring service (as defined in section
1861(ww)(2)) that the Secretary determines
provides comparable data to such remote moni-
toring service.
‘‘(B) FREQUENCY GUIDELINES.—A remote
monitoring service (as so defined) covered
under 
this 
title 
pursuant 
to 
section
1861(s)(2)(W) shall be subject to the same
guidelines developed on the frequency of billing
for the face-to-face encounter-based monitoring
service (as so defined) that the Secretary deter-
mines provides comparable data to such remote
monitoring service.’’; and
(2) in subsection (j)(3), by inserting ‘‘(2)(W),’’
after ‘‘(2)(S),’’.
(d) BUDGET NEUTRALITY.—The Secretary of Health
and Human Services shall implement the amendments
made by this section in a budget-neutral manner. In ap-
plying subparagraph (D) of section 1848(f)(2) of the So-
cial Security Act, the enactment of this section shall not
be treated as a change in law or regulations resulting, but
the Secretary shall adjust the sustainable growth rate
under such section so as to eliminate a new increase in
expenditures (if any) resulting from the enactment of this
section.
(e) CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this section shall be
construed to prohibit the request for, or the issuance by
the Secretary of Health and Human Services of, a sepa-
rate billing code for any remote monitoring service (as de-
fined in section 1861(ww)(1) of the Social Security Act
(42 U.S.C. 1395x(ww)(1)), as added by subsection (b))
through an authority of the Secretary of Health and
Human Services other than the authority provided by the
amendments made by this section.
(f) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by
this section shall apply to services furnished on or after
January 1, 2003.
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