Emergency COVID Telehealth Response Act

Bill: 116-hr-6654
Sponsor: full_name: Rep. Axne, Cynthia [D-IA-3]
Introduced: 2020-05-01
Policy area: Health
Subjects: Cardiovascular and respiratory health

Emergency medical services and trauma care

Health personnel

Health technology, devices, supplies

Hearing, speech, and vision care

Infectious and parasitic diseases

Internet and video services

Internet, web applications, social media

Long-term, rehabilitative, and terminal care

Medicare

Social work, volunteer service, charitable organizations
Latest action: action_date: 2020-05-01
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.

Summaries:
action_date: 2020-05-01
action_desc: Introduced in House
text: <p><b>Emergency COVID Telehealth Response Act</b></p> <p>This bill requires the Centers for Medicare &amp; Medicaid Services (CMS) to allow, when exercising its waiver authority, the following providers to furnish telehealth services under Medicare during the public health emergency relating to COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019): physical therapists, physical therapist assistants, occupational therapists, occupational therapy assistants, speech-language pathologists, clinical social workers, and audiologists. (Currently, the CMS is authorized to waive requirements for Medicare telehealth services during the public health emergency, and it has done so to allow all providers that are otherwise eligible to furnish in-person services under Medicare to also furnish telehealth services.)</p>

tv_txt: I 116th CONGRESS 2d Session H. R. 6654 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES May 1, 2020 Mrs. Axne (for herself, Mr. Balderson , and Mr. Hill of Arkansas ) 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 jurisdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To amend title XI of the Social Security Act to ensure the extension of the telehealth waiver authority of the Secretary of Health and Human Services to physical therapists, occupational therapists, speech language-pathologists, and certain other providers.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Emergency COVID Telehealth Response Act . 2. Ensuring extension of Secretarial telehealth waiver authority to physical therapists, occupational therapists, speech language-pathologists, and certain other providers Subsection (b) of section 1135 of the Social Security Act is amended by adding at the end the following new sentence: In exercising authority under paragraph (8) during the period beginning on March 1, 2020, and ending on the last day of the emergency period described in subsection (g)(1)(B), the Secretary shall provide that a practitioner described in section 1834(m) shall be treated as including a physical therapist, physical therapist assistant working under the supervision of a physical therapist, occupational therapist, occupational therapy assistant working under the supervision of an occupational therapist, speech language-pathologist, clinical social worker (as defined in section 1861(hh)(1)), and audiologist. .