[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3967 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

<DOC>






118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 3967

   To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to make permanent 
      certain telehealth flexibilities under the Medicare program.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 19, 2024

 Mr. Scott of South Carolina (for himself, Mr. Schatz, Mrs. Blackburn, 
   Ms. Smith, Mr. Sullivan, Mr. Warnock, Mr. Marshall, and Mr. King) 
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 
                          Committee on Finance

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to make permanent 
      certain telehealth flexibilities 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 ``Telehealth Modernization Act''.

SEC. 2. EXTENDING MEDICARE TELEHEALTH FLEXIBILITIES.

    (a) Expanding Access to Telehealth Services.--
            (1) In general.--Section 1834(m)(4)(C)(iii) of the Social 
        Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395m(m)(4)(C)(iii)) is amended by 
        striking ``In the case that'' and all that follows through 
        ``ending on December 31, 2024,'' and inserting ``Beginning on 
        the date of the enactment of the Telehealth Modernization 
        Act,''.
            (2) Conforming amendments.--Section 1834(m) of the Social 
        Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395m(m)) is amended--
                    (A) in paragraph (2)(B)(iii), by striking ``In the 
                case that'' and all that follows through ``ending 
                December 31, 2024,'' and inserting ``With respect to 
                telehealth services furnished on or after the date of 
                the enactment of the Telehealth Modernization Act,'';
                    (B) in paragraph (4)(C)(ii)(X), by striking ``, but 
                only for purposes of section 1881(b)(3)(B) or 
                telehealth services described in paragraph (7)'';
                    (C) in paragraph (5), by inserting ``and prior to 
                the date of the enactment of the Telehealth 
                Modernization Act,'' after ``January 1, 2019,'';
                    (D) in paragraph (6)(A), by inserting ``and prior 
                to the date of the enactment of the Telehealth 
                Modernization Act,'' after ``January 1, 2019,''; and
                    (E) in paragraph (7), by adding at the end the 
                following new subparagraph:
                    ``(C) Sunset.--The provisions of this paragraph 
                shall not apply with respect to services furnished on 
                or after the date of the enactment of this 
                subparagraph.''.
    (b) Expanding Practitioners Eligible To Furnish Telehealth 
Services.--Section 1834(m)(4)(E) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 
1395m(m)(4)(E)) is amended--
            (1) by striking ``practitioner.--The term'' and inserting 
        ``Practitioner.--
                    ``(A) In general.--Subject to subparagraph (B), the 
                term'';
            (2) in subparagraph (A), as so inserted, by striking ``, in 
        the case that the emergency period described in section 
        1135(g)(1)(B) ends before December 31, 2024, for the period 
        beginning on the first day after the end of such emergency 
        period and ending on December 31, 2024,''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:
                    ``(B) Expansion.--The Secretary, after consulting 
                with stakeholders regarding services that are 
                clinically appropriate, may expand the types of 
                practitioners who may furnish telehealth services to 
                include any health care professional that is eligible 
                to bill the program under this title for their 
                professional services.''.
    (c) Retention of Additional Services and Subregulatory Process for 
Modifications Following Emergency Period.--Section 1834(m)(4)(F) of the 
Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395m(m)(4)(F)) is amended--
            (1) in clause (i), by inserting ``and clause (iii)'' after 
        ``paragraph (8)'';
            (2) in clause (ii), by striking ``The Secretary'' and 
        inserting ``Subject to clause (iii), the Secretary''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following new clause:
                            ``(iii) Retention of additional services 
                        and subregulatory process for modifications 
                        following emergency period.--With respect to 
                        telehealth services furnished on or after the 
                        date of the enactment of this clause, the 
                        Secretary may--
                                    ``(I) retain as appropriate the 
                                expanded list of telehealth services 
                                specified in clause (i) pursuant to the 
                                waiver authority under section 
                                1135(b)(8) during the emergency period 
                                described in section 1135(g)(1)(B); and
                                    ``(II) retain the subregulatory 
                                process used to modify the services 
                                included on the list of such telehealth 
                                services pursuant to clause (ii) during 
                                such emergency period.''.
    (d) Enhancing Telehealth Services for Federally Qualified Health 
Centers and Rural Health Clinics.--Section 1834(m)(8) of the Social 
Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395m(m)(8)) is amended--
            (1) in subparagraph (A)--
                    (A) in the matter preceding clause (i), by striking 
                ``and, in the case'' and all that follows through 
                ``2024--'' and inserting ``and after such period--''; 
                and
                    (B) in clause (ii), by inserting ``or (C), as 
                applicable'' after ``subparagraph (B)''; and
            (2) in subparagraph (B)--
                    (A) in the header, by inserting ``before 2025'' 
                after ``rule''; and
                    (B) in clause (i), by striking ``during the periods 
                for which subparagraph (A) applies'' and inserting 
                ``before January 1, 2025''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:
                    ``(C) Payment rule for 2025 and subsequent years.--
                            ``(i) In general.--A telehealth service 
                        furnished to an eligible telehealth individual 
                        by a Federally qualified health center or rural 
                        health clinic on or after January 1, 2025, 
                        shall be deemed to be so furnished to such 
                        individual as an outpatient of such center or 
                        clinic (as applicable) for purposes of 
                        paragraphs (1) and (3), respectively, of 
                        section 1861(aa), and payable as a Federally 
                        qualified health center service or rural health 
                        clinic service (as applicable) under the 
                        prospective payment system established under 
                        section 1834(o) or the payment methodology 
                        established under section 1833(a)(3), 
                        respectively.
                            ``(ii) Treatment of costs.--Costs 
                        associated with the delivery of telehealth 
                        services by a Federally qualified health center 
                        or rural health clinic on or after January 1, 
                        2025, shall be considered allowable costs for 
                        purposes of the prospective payment system 
                        established under section 1834(o) and any 
                        payment methodologies developed under section 
                        1833(a)(3), as applicable.''.
    (e) Use of Telehealth, as Clinically Appropriate, To Conduct Face-
to-Face Encounter for Hospice Care.--Section 1814(a)(7)(D)(i)(II) of 
the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395f(a)(7)(D)(i)(II)) is amended by 
striking ``, and, in the case'' and all that follows through ``ending 
on December 31, 2024,'' and inserting ``and after such period, as 
clinically appropriate,''.
    (f) Use of Telehealth, as Clinically Appropriate, To Conduct Face-
to-Face Clinical Assessments for Home Dialysis.--Clause (iii) of 
section 1881(b)(3)(B) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 
1395rr(b)(3)(B)) is amended--
            (1) by moving such clause 4 ems to the left; and
            (2) by inserting ``and after such emergency period as 
        clinically appropriate'' before the period.
    (g) Allowing for the Use of Audio-Only Telecommunications 
Technology.--Section 1834(m)(9) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 
1395m(m)(9)) is amended--
            (1) by striking the first sentence and inserting the 
        following: ``The Secretary shall provide coverage and payment 
        under this part for telehealth services identified in paragraph 
        (4)(F)(i) as of the date of the enactment of this paragraph 
        that are furnished via an audio-only communications system.''; 
        and
            (2) in the second sentence, by striking ``during such 
        emergency period'' and inserting ``during the emergency period 
        described in section 1135(g)(1)(B)''.
    (h) Implementation.--Notwithstanding any provision of law, the 
Secretary may implement the provisions of, and amendments made by, this 
section by interim final rule, program instruction, or otherwise.
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