I 
117TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2264 
To require parity in the coverage of mental health and substance use disorder 
services provided to enrollees in private insurance plans, whether such 
services are provided in-person or through telehealth. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 26, 2021 
Mr. TRONE (for himself and Mr. FITZPATRICK) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in 
addition to the Committees on Ways and Means, and Education and 
Labor, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in 
each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdic-
tion of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To require parity in the coverage of mental health and sub-
stance use disorder services provided to enrollees in pri-
vate insurance plans, whether such services are provided 
in-person or through telehealth. 
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 ‘‘Tele-Mental Health 
Improvement Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. COVERAGE OF TELEHEALTH MENTAL HEALTH AND 
SUBSTANCE USE DISORDER SERVICES. 
(a) IN GENERAL.— 
(1) INSURER REQUIREMENTS.—During the ap-
plicable period described in subsection (g), if a group 
health plan or group or individual health insurance 
coverage provides coverage of a mental health or 
substance use disorder service provided in-person the 
group health plan or health insurance issuer offering 
such group or individual health insurance cov-
erage— 
(A) shall provide coverage of the service 
provided through telehealth at the same rate as 
the coverage for the same service provided in- 
person (with the same cost-sharing for enrollees 
and the same reimbursement rates for pro-
viders); 
(B) shall ensure that providers not charge 
enrollees facility fees for such services provided 
through telehealth; 
(C) may not impose additional barriers to 
obtaining such coverage for such services 
through telehealth, compared to coverage for 
such services provided in-person, such as a 
prior authorization requirement that is more 
rigorous than for in-person visits; and 
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(D) shall provide notice to enrollees, in-
forming such enrollees of how to access in-net-
work telehealth mental health and substance 
use disorder services and the scope of their cov-
erage. 
(2) PROVIDER
REQUIREMENTS.—During the 
applicable period described in subsection (g), if a 
provider of a mental health or substance use dis-
order service provides such services via telehealth to 
an enrollee in a group health plan or group or indi-
vidual health insurance coverage, the provider shall 
not charge such enrollee, such group health plan, or 
a health insurance issuer of such coverage facility 
fees for such services. 
(b) ENFORCEMENT.— 
(1) INSURER REQUIREMENTS.—The provisions 
of subsection (a)(1) shall be applied by the Secretary 
of Health and Human Services, the Secretary of 
Labor, and the Secretary of the Treasury to group 
health plans and health insurance issuers offering 
group or individual health insurance coverage as if 
included in the provisions of part A of title XXVII 
of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300gg 
et seq.), part 7 of subtitle B of title I of the Em-
ployee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (29 
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U.S.C. 1181 et seq.), and subchapter B of chapter 
100 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as appli-
cable. 
(2) 
PROVIDER
REQUIREMENTS.—Subsection 
(a)(2) shall be applied by the Secretary of Health 
and Human Services and the Secretary of Labor to 
providers as if included in the provisions of part E 
of title XXVII of the Public Health Service Act. 
(c) IMPLEMENTATION.—The Secretary of Health and 
Human Services, Secretary of Labor, and Secretary of the 
Treasury may implement the provisions of this section 
through sub-regulatory guidance, program instruction, or 
otherwise. 
(d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 
(1) the terms ‘‘group health plan’’, ‘‘health in-
surance issuer’’, and ‘‘health insurance coverage’’ 
have the meanings given such terms in section 2791 
of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300gg– 
91), section 733 of the Employee Retirement Income 
Security Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C. 1191b), and section 
9832 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as ap-
plicable; and 
(2) the term ‘‘telehealth services’’ has the 
meaning given such term in section 330I(a) of the 
Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 254c–14(a)), 
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and includes 2-way video communication, and audio- 
only communication. 
(e) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec-
tion shall prevent the application of any State law that 
is not inconsistent with this section. 
(f) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 180 days 
after the conclusion of the public health emergency de-
scribed in subsection (a), the Secretary of Health and 
Human Services shall submit to the Committee on Health, 
Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate, the Com-
mittee on Education and Labor of the House of Rep-
resentatives, and the Committee on Energy and Commerce 
of the House of Representatives on the impacts the re-
quirement under subsection (a) has on the use of both 
telehealth services and health services provided in-person. 
(g) APPLICABLE PERIOD.—The applicable period de-
scribed in subsection (a) is the period beginning on the 
date of enactment of this Act and ending on the date that 
is 90 days after the public health emergency declared by 
the Secretary of Health and Human Services under sec-
tion 319 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 
247d) on January 31, 2020, with respect to COVID–19, 
expires. 
Æ 
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