[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 10376 Introduced in House (IH)]
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119th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 10376
To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to establish reporting
and transparency requirements for data related to telehealth services
under the Medicare program.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
September 14, 2026
Mr. Walkinshaw (for himself and Mr. Carter of Georgia) 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 XVIII of the Social Security Act to establish reporting
and transparency requirements for data related to telehealth services
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 Reporting and
Transparency Act of 2026''.
SEC. 2. ESTABLISHING REPORTING AND TRANSPARENCY REQUIREMENTS FOR
TELEHEALTH DATA UNDER MEDICARE.
(a) Reporting and Transparency Requirements.--Section 1834(m) of
the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395m(m)) is amended by adding at
the end the following new paragraph:
``(11) Reporting and transparency requirements.--
``(A) Annual telehealth report.--
``(i) In general.--Not later than 2 years
after the date of the enactment of this
paragraph, and annually thereafter, the
Secretary shall submit to the Committee on
Energy and Commerce of the House of
Representatives and the Committee on Health,
Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate a
report that includes the information specified
in clause (ii) in accordance with the
requirements in clause (iii).
``(ii) Information specified.--For purposes
of reports submitted under clause (i), the
information specified in this clause is, with
respect to claims for telehealth services for
which payment was made under this subsection
during the 12-month period ending on the date
that is 180 days before the date on which such
report is required to be submitted--
``(I) the total number of such
claims;
``(II) the geographic distribution
of such claims, including--
``(aa) with respect to each
State, the number of such
claims for which the
originating site was located in
such State;
``(bb) the number of such
claims for which the
originating site was located in
a rural area (as defined in
section 1886(d)(2)(D)); and
``(cc) the number of such
claims for which the
originating site was located in
an urban area (as defined in
such section);
``(III) information with respect to
potential causes of any changes of 10
percent or more (or such other
percentage as the Secretary may
determine) in the numbers reported
under subclause (I), subclause
(II)(aa), subclause (II)(bb), or
subclause (II)(cc) when compared to the
previous 12-month period;
``(IV) the number of such claims
disaggregated by the age, race,
ethnicity, income level (or such other
indicator of income status as the
Secretary determines appropriate,
including eligibility for the Medicare
Savings Program, as defined in section
1144(c)(7), or for the low-income
subsidy program under section 1860D-
14), disability status, and, to the
extent available, preferred language of
individuals with respect to whom such
claims were made;
``(V) an identification of which
populations, if any, experienced rates
of utilization of such services that,
as determined by the Secretary, fell
materially below the national average;
``(VI) to the extent practicable on
the basis of Federal broadband
availability data available to the
Secretary, a description of whether
there are any barriers to accessing
broadband services or telecommunication
technologies that may have limited
access to such services for the
populations identified under subclause
(V);
``(VII) to the extent available,
metrics with respect to patient
outcomes after receiving such services
for disease management, behavioral
health, or preventive care;
``(VIII) an analysis (not including
individual medical record review) of
characteristics of such claims that are
indicative of improper billing,
including aberrant billing patterns
identified through program integrity
analytics;
``(IX) a description of any
information with respect to actions
taken to detect and prevent fraud,
waste, and abuse with respect to
payments for such services;
``(X) the number of physicians and
practitioners who furnished such
services;
``(XI) the specialties of such
physicians and practitioners; and
``(XII) any barriers to furnishing
such services that are reported by such
physicians and practitioners.
``(iii) Requirements.--For purposes of
clause (i), the requirements in this clause are
that the Secretary, in preparing a report
required by clause (i)--
``(I) shall rely on data already
available to the Secretary;
``(II) shall interpret such data
using appropriate context and
methodology, including by considering
external factors affecting utilization
of telehealth services for which
payment is made under this subsection;
``(III) shall consult with
individuals enrolled under this part,
physicians and practitioners (including
physicians and practitioners serving
rural, underserved, and low-income
populations), beneficiary advocates,
and such other telehealth stakeholders
as the Secretary may designate; and
``(IV) may not impose new reporting
or administrative requirements on
physicians and practitioners for the
purposes of gathering data for such
report.
``(B) Transparency requirements.--
``(i) Public dashboard.--Beginning not
later than 180 days after the first date on
which a report is required to be submitted
under subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall
establish and maintain on the internet website
of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
a publicly available dashboard displaying the
aggregated information included in the most
recent report submitted under such subparagraph
in a searchable and downloadable format.
``(ii) Methodology disclosure.--Not later
than 180 days after each date on which a report
is required to be submitted under subparagraph
(A), the Secretary shall make publicly
available on the internet website of the
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services a
description of any standardized methodologies,
definitions, and data specifications that were
used in the preparation of such report.''.
(b) GAO Audit.--Not earlier than 3 years after the date of the
enactment of this Act and not later than 5 years after such date, the
Comptroller General shall submit to Congress an audit of the
implementation of this Act that includes recommendations on how to
improve the quality and usefulness of data gathered with respect to
telehealth services for which payment is made under section 1834(m) of
the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395m(m)).
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