Medicare Telehealth Enhancement Act of 2009

Bill: 111-hr-2068
Sponsor: Rep. Thompson, Mike [D-CA-1]
Introduced: 2009-04-23 in the House
Policy area: Health
Subjects: Advisory bodies
Alaska
Department of Health and Human Services
Digestive and metabolic diseases
Executive agency funding and structure
Hawaii
Health care coverage and access
Health programs administration and funding
Health technology, devices, supplies
Home and outpatient care
Internet and video services
Internet, web applications, social media
Long-term, rehabilitative, and terminal care
Medicare
Telephone and wireless communication

Summary:
action_date: 2009-04-23
text: 
Medicare Telehealth Enhancement Act of 2009 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act regarding telehealth services (furnished via a telecommunication system by a physician to an enrolled individual).
 
 Removes current geographic restrictions on the provision of such services.
 
Extends the meaning of store-and-forward technology, for any federal telemedicine demonstration program in Alaska or Hawaii, to include any telehealth program that has received any federal support from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMMS), the Indian Health Service, or the Health Services and Resources Administration (HSRA).
 
Authorizes a renal dialysis facility to participate in the telehealth program.
 
Authorizes payment of eligible telehealth providers or suppliers other than a physician or telemedicine practitioner. Declares that any telemedicine practitioner credentialed by a hospital in compliance with the Joint Commission Standards for Telemedicine shall be considered in compliance with Medicare condition of participation and reimbursement credentialing requirements for telemedicine services.
 
Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to treat telehealth services furnished by a home health agency as a home health visit for Medicare purposes.
 
Authorizes coverage of remote patient management services, including home health remote patient management services, for certain chronic health conditions.
 
Directs the Secretary to establish a fee schedule for home health remote patient management services.
 
Expresses the sense of the Congress that the CMMS Administrator should be encouraged to: (1) expand the types of medical conditions for which remote patient management services are reimbursed under Medicare; (2) provide for separate, non-bundled Medicare payment for such services; and (3) create, revise, and adjust codes for the accurate reporting and billing for such payment. 
 
Establishes the Telehealth Advisory Committee. Requires the Secretary to take its recommendations into account when adding or deleting telehealth services and in establishing related CMMS policies.
 
 Directs the Secretary, acting through the Director of the HSRA Office for the Advancement of Telehealth, to make grants to expand access via telehealth to health care services for individuals in medically underserved rural, frontier, and urban areas.
 
Amends the Public Health Service Act to reauthorize telehealth network and telehealth resource centers grant programs.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2009-04-27
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.
action_date: 2009-04-23
text: Referred to House Ways and Means
action_date: 2009-04-23
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: 2009-04-23
text: Referred to House Energy and Commerce
action_date: 2009-04-23
text: Introduced in House
action_date: 2009-04-23
text: Introduced in House