Telehealth and Medically Underserved and Advancement Act of 2006

Bill: 109-hr-6394
Sponsor: Rep. Jefferson, William J. [D-LA-2]
Introduced: 2006-12-06 in the House
Policy area: Health
Subjects: Access to health care
Alzheimer's disease
Caregivers
Case management
Chronically ill
Clinics
Communication in medicine
Conferences
Congregate housing
Congressional reporting requirements
Cost effectiveness
Curricula
Dental care
Dentists
Economics and Public Finance
Education
Executive reorganization
Families
Federal advisory bodies
Federal aid to health facilities
Federal-state relations
Government Operations and Politics
Health education
Health information systems
Higher education
Housing and Community Development
Interstate relations
Law
Licenses
Medical education
Medical fees
Medical technology
Medicare
Mental care facilities
Nursing homes
Patient satisfaction
Quality of care
Retirement communities
Rural health
Science, Technology, Communications
Social Welfare
Telemedicine
Terminal care

Summary:
action_date: 2006-12-06
text: 
Telehealth and Medically Underserved and Advancement Act of 2006 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to: (1) increase the type of originating sites allowed to offer telehealth services, including skilled nursing facilities, assisted living facilities, and county or community health clinics; and (2) remove the requirement that such originating sites must be in rural areas.
 
Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to convene a conference of state licensing boards, local telehealth projects, health care practitioners, and patient advocates to promote interstate licensure for telehealth projects.
 
Authorizes the Director of the Office for the Advancement of Telehealth to award grants to: (1) demonstrate how telehealth technologies can be used to expand access to, coordinate, and improve the quality of health care services, and to improve and expand the training of health care providers, the quality of health information available, and efforts to eliminate health care disparities; and (2) provide oral health services to patients who reside in rural areas.
 
Directs the Secretary to establish a Joint Working Group on Telehealth to: (1) identify, monitor, and coordinate federal telehealth projects, data sets, and programs in rural and urban areas; (2) analyze how telehealth systems are expanding access to health care services, education, and information; (3) analyze the clinical, educational, or administrative efficacy and cost-effectiveness of telehealth applications; (4) analyze the quality of the telehealth services delivered; (5) analyze how telehealth systems can advance the improve of health care quality and the elimination of health care disparities; (6) analyze the federal resources needed to accomplish the stated objectives of telehealth programs; and (7) make recommendations for coordinating federal and state efforts to increase access to health services, education, and information in rural and urban medically underserved areas.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2006-12-06
text: 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 jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
action_date: 2006-12-06
text: 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 jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
action_date: 2006-12-06
text: 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 jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
action_date: 2006-12-06
text: Introduced in House
action_date: 2006-12-06
text: Introduced in House