[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 118 (Tuesday, September 20, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Page S10237]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. THUNE:
  S. 1733. A bill to establish pilot projects under the medicare 
program to provide incentives for home health agencies to utilize home 
monitoring and communications technologies; to the Committee on 
Finance.
  Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, as I traveled across my State of South 
Dakota this August, I heard from many constituents about the high cost 
of health care. Concerns about the cost of health care are not limited, 
however, to the people of South Dakota. These concerns span across 
state lines and across the minds of people of all ages.
  There is no one-size-fits-all solution to the issues of access and 
cost of health care.
  My State of South Dakota is rural. In South Dakota, 46 out of our 66 
counties are classified as medically underserved areas--areas that have 
insufficient health resources, manpower or facilities to meet the 
medical needs of the population. This poses a significant challenge in 
providing health care to the 750,000 residents of South Dakota.
  Providing high quality affordable health care will take the 
cooperation of both the public and the private sector. The use of 
technology in the delivery of health care has been a proven method in 
providing quality care while reducing cost.
  Telehealth uses telecommunications and information technologies to 
provide health care services at a distance. It provides individuals in 
remote underserved areas access to specialists and other health care 
providers through the use of technology. This means that when my 
constituent in Gregory, SD, needs his skin examined by a dermatologist, 
he does not need to travel the 185 miles to Sioux Falls.
  The practice of telemedicine, however, has been underutilized and 
underfunded despite numerous studies praising the ability of telehealth 
to deliver care to individuals in remote areas.
  The adoption of telehealth has been hampered by legal, financial, and 
regulatory barriers.
  My legislation, the Fostering Independence Through Technology Act of 
2005, takes a step in the right direction of breaking down the barriers 
that prevent the adoption of telehealth. It provides incentives for 
home health agencies to purchase and utilize home monitoring and 
communications technologies. My legislation is pro technology, pro 
quality, and pro savings.
  Specifically, my bill requires the Secretary of the Department of 
Health and Human Services to create demonstration projects that would 
encourage home health agencies to utilize remote monitoring technology. 
Utilizing technology in the home health setting would reduce the number 
of visits by home health aides while still providing quality care.
  Each demonstration project is required to include a performance 
target for the home health agency. This target will be used to 
determine whether the projects are enhancing health outcomes for 
Medicare beneficiaries as well as saving the program money.
  Each year, the home health agency participating in the pilot will 
receive an incentive payment based on a percentage of the Medicare 
savings realized as a result of the pilot project.
  The demonstration projects would be conducted in both rural and urban 
settings because medically underserved areas exist across the country. 
One project, however, is required to be conducted in a state with a 
population of less than one million.
  Technology is improving each and every day. I ask then, why one of 
the biggest industries in our Nation--health care--is not utilizing 
this technology to reduce costs and improve the quality of care 
delivered. Breaking down the barriers that prevent wider adoption of 
telehealth will improve our system of care and lower the cost of health 
care for individuals across the country.
  The practice of telehealth brings medicine to people, people who live 
in medically underserved areas and people who are too frail or too ill 
to leave the comfort of their homes.
  My legislation answers the call for wider adoption of telehealth and 
provides Medicare beneficiaries independence without sacrificing 
quality of care.
  It is time for Congress to tackle the legal, financial, and 
regulatory barriers that are preventing the implementation of 
technology into the health care field. The legislation that I am 
introducing today takes a giant step in this direction and I urge my 
colleagues to support this legislation.
                                 ______