[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2508 Introduced in House (IH)]
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116th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 2508
To provide for a pilot program to include respiratory therapists as
telehealth practitioners under the Medicare program.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
May 2, 2019
Mr. Thompson of California (for himself, Mr. Cox of California, Mr.
Carter of Georgia, and Mr. Kelly of Pennsylvania) 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 provide for a pilot program to include respiratory therapists as
telehealth practitioners under the Medicare program.
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 ``Better Respiration through Expanding
Access to Tele-Health Act'' or the ``BREATHE Act''.
SEC. 2. PILOT PROGRAM FOR INCLUDING RESPIRATORY THERAPISTS AS
TELEHEALTH PRACTITIONERS UNDER THE MEDICARE PROGRAM.
(a) In General.--Beginning not later than 6 months after the date
of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Health and Human
Services shall establish a 3-year pilot program under title XVIII of
the Social Security Act with respect to furnishing telehealth disease
management services to eligible telehealth individuals who are
diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease for purposes of
determining the value of including qualifying respiratory therapists as
telehealth practitioners under the Medicare program to improve health
outcomes for, reduce unnecessary emergency department visits and
hospital admissions and readmissions of, and lower the cost of care
provided to such individuals.
(b) Telehealth Access.--Under the pilot program, coverage shall be
provided under title XVIII of the Social Security Act for telehealth
disease management services furnished to eligible telehealth
individuals who are diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary
disease by applying section 1834(m) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1395m(m)),
as if--
(1) the reference in paragraph (1) of such section to ``a
practitioner (as described in section 1842(b)(18)(C))'' were a
reference to ``a practitioner (as defined in paragraph
(4)(E))'';
(2) paragraph (2)(B) of such section does not apply to any
site that satisfies the definition of the term ``originating
site'' applied pursuant to paragraph (3) and that would not
otherwise be included as an originating site without
application of such paragraph;
(3) the definition under paragraph (4)(C) of such section
for the term ``originating site'' included as a site described
in clause (ii) of such paragraph the place of residence of such
individual, regardless of whether such place of residence
satisfies the conditions described in subclause (I), (II), or
(III) of clause (i) of such paragraph;
(4) the definition in paragraph (4)(E) of such section for
the term ``practitioner'' included qualifying respiratory
therapists; and
(5) the definition in paragraph (4)(F) of such section for
``telehealth services'' included the following HCPCS codes
98960, 94664, 99406, 99407, and 99091.
(c) Payment Modifier.--For purposes of the pilot program, the
Secretary shall establish a payment modifier to ensure the collection
of data relevant to telehealth disease management services furnished
directly by a qualifying respiratory therapist to eligible telehealth
individuals who are diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary
disease.
(d) Report.--Not later than one year after the last date of the
pilot program, the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall submit
to Congress a report on the findings of the program, including if acute
care interventions were reduced and the health status of eligible
telehealth individuals who are diagnosed with chronic obstructive
pulmonary disease was improved based on the lower utilization of
services.
(e) Definitions.--For purposes of this section:
(1) The term ``eligible telehealth individual'' has the
meaning given such term in section 1834(m)(4) of the Social
Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395m(m)(4)).
(2) The term ``qualifying respiratory therapist'' means a
respiratory therapist who--
(A) is credentialed by a national credentialing
board recognized by the Secretary of Health and Human
Services;
(B) if applicable, is licensed in the State in
which the therapist furnishes the services involved;
(C) holds the credential of Registered Respiratory
Therapist; and
(D) has a minimum of a bachelor's degree or other
advanced degree in biological or health science.
(3) The term ``telehealth disease management services''
means any of the following disease management services
furnished via a telecommunications system by a qualifying
respiratory therapist:
(A) Self-management education and training.
(B) Demonstration and evaluation of inhaler
techniques.
(C) Smoking cessation counseling.
(D) Remote patient monitoring.
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