Title: Mental Health Telemedicine Expansion Act
Policy area: Health

Summary:
Mental Health Telemedicine Expansion Act
This bill excludes certain mental health telehealth services from specified requirements under Medicare, including originating site requirements.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3797 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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115th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 3797

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 SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           December 19, 2018

  Ms. Harris introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
                  referred to the Committee on Finance

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to provide for coverage 
    under the Medicare program of certain mental health telehealth 
                               services.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Mental Health Telemedicine Expansion 
Act''.

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 ``services 
        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:
            ``(8) Treatment of mental health telehealth services.--
                    ``(A) Non-application of originating site 
                requirements.--The requirements described 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 sentence shall waive any applicable State law 
                requirements.
                    ``(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 the time the service is furnished via a 
                telecommunications system.
                    ``(C) No originating site facility fee.--No 
                facility fee shall be paid under paragraph (2)(B) to an 
                originating site with respect to a telehealth service 
                described in subparagraph (A) if the originating site 
                does not otherwise meet the requirements for an 
                originating site under paragraph (4)(C).
                    ``(D) In-person assessments required.--Payment may 
                not be made for mental health telehealth services under 
                this paragraph (if such payment would not otherwise be 
                allowed under this subsection without application of 
                this paragraph) furnished to an eligible telehealth 
                individual unless--
                            ``(i) prior to the provision of such mental 
                        health telehealth services, a physician or 
                        practitioner furnished an in-person assessment 
                        of the needs of such individual for such 
                        services; and
                            ``(ii) a physician or practitioner 
                        furnishes a reassessment of the needs of such 
                        individual for such services at a frequency 
                        specified by the Secretary.
                    ``(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 modified by 
                the Secretary).''.
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