IB 
Union Calendar No. 785 
118TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 9457 
[Report No. 118–876, Part I] 
To amend the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 to prohibit 
increased payments under a group health plan or group health insurance 
coverage for telehealth services furnished by a provider located at a 
facility. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
SEPTEMBER 6, 2024 
Mr. BEAN of Florida introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Education and the Workforce, and in addition to the Com-
mittee on Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently deter-
mined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions 
as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
DECEMBER 16, 2024 
Reported from the Committee on Education and the Workforce with an 
amendment 
[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 
DECEMBER 16, 2024 
Referral to the Committee on Energy and Commerce extended for a period 
ending not later than December 19, 2024 
DECEMBER 19, 2024 
Committee on Energy and Commerce discharged; committed to the Committee 
of the Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed 
[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on September 6, 2024] 
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A BILL 
To amend the Employee Retirement Income Security Act 
of 1974 to prohibit increased payments under a group 
health plan or group health insurance coverage for tele-
health services furnished by a provider located at a facil-
ity. 
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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 ‘‘Transparent Telehealth 
Bills Act of 2024’’. 
SEC. 2. PROHIBITING INCREASED PAYMENTS UNDER A 
GROUP HEALTH PLAN OR GROUP HEALTH IN-
SURANCE 
COVERAGE 
FOR 
TELEHEALTH 
SERVICES FURNISHED BY A PROVIDER LO-
CATED AT A FACILITY. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Subpart B of part 7 of subtitle B 
of title I of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act 
of 1974 (29 U.S.C. 1185 et seq.) is amended by adding at 
the end the following new section: 
‘‘SEC. 726. PROHIBITION ON INCREASED PAYMENTS FOR 
TELEHEALTH SERVICES FURNISHED BY A 
PROVIDER LOCATED AT A FACILITY. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—In the case of a telehealth service 
furnished to a participant or beneficiary of a group health 
plan or group health insurance coverage by a health care 
provider located at a health care facility, the total amount 
recognized by such plan or coverage as payment for such 
service (including any facility fee or other amount that may 
be billed separately by such facility in relation to such pro-
vider’s furnishing of such service) may not exceed the total 
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amount that would have been recognized by such plan or 
coverage as payment for such service had such provider not 
been located at such a facility. 
‘‘(b) TELEHEALTH SERVICE DEFINED.—For purposes 
of this section, the term ‘telehealth service’ means a service 
furnished by a health care provider via a telecommuni-
cations system where such provider is not at the same loca-
tion as the individual receiving such service.’’. 
(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents in 
section 1 of such Act is amended by inserting after the item 
relating to section 725 the following new item: 
‘‘Sec. 726. Prohibition on increased payments for telehealth services furnished by 
a provider located at a facility.’’. 
(c) REPORT.—Not later than 18 months after the date 
of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the 
United States shall submit to Congress a report on what 
is known about the use of telehealth under group health 
plans and group or individual health insurance coverage 
(as such terms are defined in section 2791 of the Public 
Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 1395x)). Such report shall 
include the following: 
(1) Trends and statistics regarding the use of 
telehealth for specific types of care, including primary 
care, mental health care, and specialty care. 
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(2) Trends and statistics regarding the avail-
ability, access, and utilization of telehealth services by 
individuals residing in rural areas and urban areas. 
(3) Trends and statistics regarding the applica-
tion of hospital facility fees in the context of telehealth 
services. 
(4) Trends and statistics regarding how individ-
uals access telehealth services, including with respect 
to the devices used and tools offered by such plans and 
issuers of such coverage to facilitate access to such 
services and with respect to the utilization of audio- 
only telehealth services. 
(5) Trends and statistics with respect to individ-
uals accessing telehealth services provided from physi-
cians or other medical professionals residing in a 
State other than the State that the individual is lo-
cated in while receiving such services and with respect 
to applicable State laws or State-to-State compacts 
that impact cross-State provision of telehealth serv-
ices. 
(6) Trends and statistics regarding payment and 
reimbursement for telehealth services. 
(7) Trends and statistics regarding premiums for 
such plans and coverage offering telehealth services. 
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(d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by sub-
section (a) shall apply to plan years beginning on or after 
January 1, 2026. 
SEC. 3. PROHIBITING HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS AND FA-
CILITIES FROM IMPOSING CERTAIN FACILITY 
FEES FOR TELEHEALTH. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle B of title I of the Employee 
Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C. 1021 
et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following new 
part: 
‘‘PART 9—BILLING REQUIREMENTS FOR HEALTH 
CARE FACILITIES AND PROVIDERS 
‘‘SEC. 901. LIMITATION ON TELEHEALTH FACILITY FEES. 
‘‘A health care facility may not bill a separate facility 
fee when a health care provider who provided telehealth 
services is authorized to bill independently for the profes-
sional services rendered.’’. 
(b) ENFORCEMENT.—Section 502 of the Employee Re-
tirement Income Security Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C. 1132) is 
amended— 
(1) in subsection (a)(6), by striking ‘‘or (9)’’ and 
inserting ‘‘(9), or (13)’’; and 
(2) in subsection (c), by adding at the end the 
following new paragraph: 
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‘‘(13) If a health care provider or facility is 
found by the Secretary to be in violation of section 
901, the Secretary may assess a civil monetary pen-
alty against such provider or facility in an amount 
not to exceed $10,000 per violation.’’. 
(c) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents of 
the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (29 
U.S.C. 1001 note) is amended by inserting after the item 
relating to section 804 the following new item: 
‘‘PART 9—BILLING REQUIREMENTS FOR HEALTH CARE FACILITIES AND 
PROVIDERS 
‘‘901. Limitation on telehealth facility fees.’’. 
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Union Calendar No. 785 
118TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 9457 
[Report No. 118–876, Part I] 
A BILL 
To amend the Employee Retirement Income Secu-
rity Act of 1974 to prohibit increased payments 
under a group health plan or group health insur-
ance coverage for telehealth services furnished by 
a provider located at a facility. 
DECEMBER 19, 2024 
Committee on Energy and Commerce discharged; com-
mitted to the Committee of the Whole House on the 
State of the Union and ordered to be printed 
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