I 
117TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1332 
To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to make permanent certain 
telehealth flexibilities under the Medicare program related to the COVID– 
19 public health emergency. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
FEBRUARY 25, 2021 
Mr. CARTER of Georgia (for himself, Ms. BLUNT ROCHESTER, Mr. GRIFFITH, 
Mr. VAN DREW, Mr. MORELLE, Mr. KILMER, Mr. PENCE, and Mr. PA-
NETTA) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee 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 provisions as fall within 
the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to make 
permanent certain telehealth flexibilities under the Medi-
care program related to the COVID–19 public health 
emergency. 
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 ‘‘Telehealth Moderniza-
tion Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. EXTENDING MEDICARE TELEHEALTH FLEXIBILI-
TIES. 
(a) EXPANDING ACCESS
TO TELEHEALTH SERV-
ICES.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—Section 1834(m)(4)(C) of 
the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395m(m)(4)(C)) 
is amended by adding at the end the following new 
clause: 
‘‘(iii) EXPANDING ACCESS TO TELE-
HEALTH SERVICES.—With respect to tele-
health services furnished beginning on the 
first day after the end of the emergency 
period described in section 1135(g)(1)(B) 
of this clause, the term ‘originating site’ 
means any site at which the eligible tele-
health individual is located at the time the 
service is furnished via a telecommuni-
cations system, including the home of an 
individual.’’. 
(2) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Such section 
is amended— 
(A) in paragraph (2)(B)— 
(i) in clause (i), in the matter pre-
ceding subclause (I), by striking ‘‘clause 
(ii)’’ and inserting ‘‘clauses (ii) and (iii)’’; 
and 
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(ii) by adding at the end the following 
new clause: 
‘‘(iii) NO
FACILITY
FEE
FOR
NEW 
SITES.—With respect to telehealth services 
furnished on or after the date of enact-
ment of this clause, a facility fee shall only 
be paid under this subparagraph to an 
originating site that is described in para-
graph (4)(C)(ii) (other than subclause (X) 
of such paragraph).’’; 
(B) in paragraph (4)(C)— 
(i) in clause (i), in the matter pre-
ceding subclause (I), by inserting ‘‘and 
clause (iii)’’ after ‘‘and (7)’’; and 
(ii) in clause (ii)(X), by inserting 
‘‘prior to the first day after the end of the 
emergency period described in section 
1135(g)(1)(B)’’ before the period; 
(C) in paragraph (5), by inserting ‘‘and 
prior to the first day after the end of the emer-
gency 
period 
described 
in 
section 
1135(g)(1)(B)’’ after ‘‘January 1, 2019,’’; 
(D) in paragraph (6)(A), by inserting ‘‘and 
prior to the first day after the end of the emer-
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gency 
period 
described 
in 
section 
1135(g)(1)(B),’’ after ‘‘January 1, 2019,’’; and 
(E) in paragraph (7), by adding at the end 
the following new subparagraph: 
‘‘(C) SUNSET.—The provisions of this 
paragraph shall not apply with respect to serv-
ices furnished on or after the first day after the 
end of the emergency period described in sec-
tion 1135(g)(1)(B).’’. 
(b) EXPANDING PRACTITIONERS ELIGIBLE TO FUR-
NISH TELEHEALTH SERVICES.—Section 1834(m) of the 
Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395m(m)) is amended— 
(1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘(described in 
section 1842(b)(18)(C))’’ and inserting ‘‘(defined in 
paragraph (4)(E))’’; and 
(2) in paragraph (4)(E)— 
(A) by striking ‘‘PRACTITIONER.—The 
term’’ and inserting ‘‘PRACTITIONER.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—Subject to subpara-
graph (B), the term’’; and 
(B) by adding at the end the following new 
subparagraph: 
‘‘(B) EXPANSION.—The Secretary, after 
consulting with stakeholders regarding services 
that are clinically appropriate, may expand the 
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types of practitioners who may furnish tele-
health services to include any health care pro-
fessional that is eligible to bill the program 
under this title for their professional services.’’. 
(c) RETENTION OF ADDITIONAL SERVICES AND SUB-
REGULATORY PROCESS FOR MODIFICATIONS FOLLOWING 
EMERGENCY PERIOD.—Section 1834(m)(4)(F) of the So-
cial Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395m(m)(4)(F)) is amend-
ed— 
(1) in clause (i), by inserting ‘‘and clause (iii)’’ 
after ‘‘paragraph (8)’’; 
(2) in clause (ii), by striking ‘‘The Secretary’’ 
and inserting ‘‘Subject to clause (iii), the Sec-
retary’’; and 
(3) by adding at the end the following new 
clause: 
‘‘(iii) RETENTION
OF
ADDITIONAL 
SERVICES AND SUBREGULATORY PROCESS 
FOR
MODIFICATIONS
FOLLOWING
EMER-
GENCY
PERIOD.—With respect to tele-
health services furnished after the last day 
of the emergency period described in sec-
tion 1135(g)(1)(B), the Secretary may— 
‘‘(I) retain as appropriate the ex-
panded list of telehealth services spec-
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ified in clause (i) pursuant to the 
waiver 
authority 
under 
section 
1135(b)(8) during such emergency pe-
riod; and 
‘‘(II) retain the subregulatory 
process used to modify the services in-
cluded on the list of such telehealth 
services pursuant to clause (ii) during 
such emergency period.’’. 
(d) ENHANCING TELEHEALTH SERVICES FOR FED-
ERALLY
QUALIFIED
HEALTH
CENTERS
AND
RURAL 
HEALTH CLINICS.—Section 1834(m)(8) of the Social Se-
curity Act (42 U.S.C. 1395m(m)(8)) is amended— 
(1) in the paragraph heading by inserting ‘‘AND 
AFTER’’ after ‘‘DURING’’; 
(2) in subparagraph (A), in the matter pre-
ceding clause (i), by inserting ‘‘and after’’ after 
‘‘During’’; and 
(3) in the first sentence of subparagraph (B)(i), 
by inserting ‘‘and after’’ after ‘‘during’’. 
(e) USE OF TELEHEALTH, AS CLINICALLY APPRO-
PRIATE, TO CONDUCT FACE-TO-FACE ENCOUNTER FOR 
HOSPICE CARE.—Section 1814(a)(7)(D)(i)(II) of the So-
cial Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395f(a)(7)(D)(i)(II)) is 
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amended by inserting ‘‘and after such emergency period 
as clinically appropriate’’ after ‘‘1135(g)(1)(B)’’. 
(f) USE OF TELEHEALTH, AS CLINICALLY APPRO-
PRIATE, TO CONDUCT FACE-TO-FACE CLINICAL ASSESS-
MENTS
FOR HOME DIALYSIS.—Clause (iii) of section 
1881(b)(3)(B) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 
1395rr(b)(3)(B)) is amended— 
(1) by moving such clause 4 ems to the left; 
and 
(2) by inserting ‘‘and after such emergency pe-
riod as clinically appropriate’’ before the period. 
(g) IMPLEMENTATION.—Notwithstanding any provi-
sion of law, the Secretary may implement the provisions 
of, and amendments made by, this section by interim final 
rule, program instruction, or otherwise. 
Æ 
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