I 
115TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 6781 
To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to provide for coverage 
under the Medicare program of certain mental health telehealth services. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
SEPTEMBER 12, 2018 
Ms. DELBENE (for herself and Mr. REED) 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 provi-
sions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to provide 
for coverage under the Medicare program of certain men-
tal health telehealth services. 
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 ‘‘Mental Health Tele-
medicine Expansion Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. MEDICARE COVERAGE OF CERTAIN MENTAL 
HEALTH TELEHEALTH SERVICES. 
Section 1834(m) of the Social Security Act (42 
U.S.C. 42 U.S.C. 1395m(m)) is amended— 
(1) in paragraph (4)(F)(i), by inserting ‘‘serv-
ices identified by CPT codes 90834 and 90837 (and 
as subsequently modified by the Secretary),’’ before 
‘‘and any additional service’’; and 
(2) by adding at the end the following new 
paragraph: 
‘‘(7) TREATMENT OF MENTAL HEALTH TELE-
HEALTH SERVICES.— 
‘‘(A) NON-APPLICATION
OF
ORIGINATING 
SITE
REQUIREMENTS.—The requirements de-
scribed in paragraph (4)(C) shall not apply with 
respect to telehealth services furnished on or 
after January 1, 2020, that are mental health 
telehealth services. Nothing in the previous sen-
tence shall waive any applicable State law re-
quirements. 
‘‘(B) INCLUSION
OF
CERTAIN
SITES.— 
With respect to telehealth services described in 
subparagraph (A), the term ‘originating site’ 
shall include the home of the eligible telehealth 
individual at which the individual is located at 
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the time the service is furnished via a tele-
communications system. 
‘‘(C) NO
ORIGINATING
SITE
FACILITY 
FEE.—No facility fee shall be paid under para-
graph (2)(B) to an originating site with respect 
to a telehealth service described in subpara-
graph (A) if the originating site does not other-
wise meet the requirements for an originating 
site under paragraph (4)(C). 
‘‘(D) 
IN-PERSON
ASSESSMENTS
RE-
QUIRED.—Payment may not be made for men-
tal health telehealth services under this para-
graph (if such payment would not otherwise be 
allowed under this subsection without applica-
tion of this paragraph) furnished to an eligible 
telehealth individual unless— 
‘‘(i) prior to the provision of such 
mental health telehealth services, a physi-
cian or practitioner furnished an in-person 
assessment of the needs of such individual 
for such services; and 
‘‘(ii) a physician or practitioner fur-
nishes a reassessment of the needs of such 
individual for such services at a frequency 
specified by the Secretary. 
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‘‘(E) 
MENTAL
HEALTH
TELEHEALTH 
SERVICES
DEFINED.—For purposes of this 
paragraph, the term ‘mental health telehealth 
service’ means services identified by CPT codes 
90834 and 90837 (and as subsequently modi-
fied by the Secretary).’’. 
Æ 
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