Telehealth and Medically Underserved and Advancement Act of 2007

Bill: 110-hr-1601
Sponsor: Rep. Jefferson, William J. [D-LA-2]
Introduced: 2007-03-20 in the House
Policy area: Health
Subjects: Access to health care
Clinics
Communication in medicine
Community health services
Conferences
Congregate housing
Congressional reporting requirements
Dental care
Department of Health and Human Services
Distance education
Economics and Public Finance
Education
Executive reorganization
Federal-state relations
Government Operations and Politics
Grants-in-aid
Health information systems
Higher education
Housing and Community Development
Law
Licenses
Medical education
Medicare
Mental care facilities
Nursing homes
Patient satisfaction
Quality of care
Rural health
Science, Technology, Communications
Social Welfare
Telemedicine

Summary:
action_date: 2007-03-20
text: 
Telehealth and Medically Underserved and Advancement Act of 2007 - 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; (2) analyze how telehealth systems are expanding access to health care services, education, and information; (3) analyze the quality of the telehealth services delivered; (4) analyze how telehealth systems can improve health care quality and eliminate disparities; and (5) 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: 2007-04-02
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.
action_date: 2007-03-21
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.
action_date: 2007-03-20
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: 2007-03-20
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: 2007-03-20
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: 2007-03-20
text: Introduced in House
action_date: 2007-03-20
text: Introduced in House