I 
113TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2619 
To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to provide for Medicare 
coverage of pulmonary self-management education and training services 
furnished by a qualified respiratory therapist in a physician practice. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 8, 2013 
Mr. LEWIS 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 provisions as fall within the juris-
diction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to provide 
for Medicare coverage of pulmonary self-management 
education and training services furnished by a qualified 
respiratory therapist in a physician practice. 
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 Respiratory 
Therapist Access Act of 2013’’. 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
03:59 Jul 09, 2013
Jkt 029200
PO 00000
Frm 00001
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H2619.IH
H2619
smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
SEC. 2. MEDICARE COVERAGE OF PULMONARY SELF-MAN-
AGEMENT EDUCATION AND TRAINING SERV-
ICES FURNISHED BY A QUALIFIED RES-
PIRATORY THERAPIST IN A PHYSICIAN PRAC-
TICE. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1861 of the Social Secu-
rity Act (42 U.S.C. 1395x) is amended— 
(1) in subsection (s)(2)— 
(A) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of sub-
paragraph (EE); 
(B) by adding ‘‘and’’ at the end of sub-
paragraph (FF); and 
(C) by adding at the end the following new 
subparagraph: 
‘‘(GG) pulmonary self-management education 
and training services (as defined in subsection 
(iii)(1));’’; and 
(2) by adding at the end the following new sub-
section: 
‘‘(iii) PULMONARY SELF-MANAGEMENT EDUCATION 
AND TRAINING SERVICES; ELIGIBLE INDIVIDUAL; QUALI-
FIED RESPIRATORY THERAPIST.— 
‘‘(1) For purposes of subsection (s)(2)(GG), the 
term ‘pulmonary self-management education and 
training services’ means patient education and train-
ing services furnished to an individual diagnosed 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
03:59 Jul 09, 2013
Jkt 029200
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H2619.IH
H2619
smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
with a chronic lung disease, including such a disease 
described in paragraph (2), by a qualified res-
piratory therapist (as defined in paragraph (3)) in 
a physician practice but only if the physician who is 
managing the chronic lung disease of the individual 
determines, in accordance with a comprehensive plan 
of care related to the treatment of the individual for 
the chronic lung disease, that such services are need-
ed to ensure therapy compliance by the individual or 
to provide the individual with necessary skills and 
knowledge (including skills related to proper inhaler 
techniques) to participate in the management of the 
individual’s chronic lung disease. 
‘‘(2) For purposes of paragraph (1), a chronic 
lung disease described in this paragraph is any of 
the following: 
‘‘(A) Chronic obstructive pulmonary dis-
ease (COPD), including emphysema and bron-
chitis. 
‘‘(B) Asthma. 
‘‘(C) Pulmonary hypertension. 
‘‘(D) Pulmonary fibrosis. 
‘‘(E) Cystic fibrosis. 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
03:59 Jul 09, 2013
Jkt 029200
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H2619.IH
H2619
smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
‘‘(3) For purposes of paragraph (1), the term 
‘qualified respiratory therapist’ means an individual 
who— 
‘‘(A) 
is 
credentialed 
by 
a 
national 
credentialing board recognized by the Secretary; 
‘‘(B)(i) is licensed to practice respiratory 
therapy in the State in which the respiratory 
therapy services are performed; or 
‘‘(ii) in the case of an individual in a State 
which does not provide for such licensure, is le-
gally authorized to perform respiratory therapy 
services (in the State in which the individual 
performed such services) under State law (or 
the State regulatory mechanism provided by 
State law); 
‘‘(C) is a registered respiratory therapist; 
and 
‘‘(D) holds at a minimum either a bach-
elor’s degree or other advanced degree from an 
accredited school of higher education in a 
health science field.’’. 
Æ 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
03:59 Jul 09, 2013
Jkt 029200
PO 00000
Frm 00004
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6301
E:\BILLS\H2619.IH
H2619
smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS