Comprehensive Telehealth Act of 1999

Summary

Comprehensive Telehealth Act of 1999 - Title I: Revision and Clarification of Medicare Reimbursement of Telehealth Services - Amends the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 with respect to reimbursement of telehealth services under title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to: (1) include reimbursement for store-and-forward technologies, clinical psychologist and physical, occupational, and speech therapist practitioner services, and items and services covered under Medicare part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance) that are provided via telecommunications systems; (2) extend telehealth coverage to all rural areas (currently, only those designated as health professional shortage areas under the Public Health Service Act); (3) allow any health care practitioner acting on instructions from the referring physician or practitioner to present the Medicare beneficiary to the consulting physician or practitioner for the provision of items and services; (4) prohibit the referring physician and the practitioner from receiving any reimbursement for such presentation other than the payment that the referring physician shares with the consulting physician; and (5) provide that payment for items and services shall include payment for all current procedural terminology billing codes covered under Medicare. Title II: Telehealth Licensure - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to study and report to Congress regarding: (1) the number, percentage, and types of health care providers licensed to provide telehealth services across State lines; (2) the status of any reciprocal, mutual recognition, fast-track, or other licensure agreements between or among various States, as well as the status of any efforts to develop uniform national sets of standards for the licensure of health care providers to provide telehealth services across State lines; (3) a projection of future utilization of telehealth consultations across State lines; (4) State efforts to increase or reduce licensure as a burden to interstate telehealth practice; and (5) any State licensure requirements that appear to constitute unnecessary barriers to the provision of telehealth services across State lines. Title III: Joint Working Group on Telehealth and Periodic Reports to Congress - Redesignates the Joint Working Group on Telemedicine as the Joint Working Group on Telehealth, with the chairperson designated by the Director of the Office for the Advancement of Telehealth. Makes it the mission of the Joint Working Group on Telehealth to: (1) identify, monitor, coordinate, and analyze Federal telehealth projects, data sets, and programs; and (2) make further recommendations for coordination of Federal and State efforts to increase access to health care services, education, and information in rural and underserved areas. Requires the Joint Working Group to report annually, after a certain date, to Congress on mission status and the state of the telehealth field generally. Authorizes appropriations. Title IV: Development of Telehealth Networks - Subtitle A: Development of Telehealth Networks - Directs the Secretary, acting through the Director of the Office for Advancement of Telehealth, to provide specified financial assistance to eligible telehealth networks to expand access to health care services for individuals in rural and frontier areas through the use of telehealth networks. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle B: Rural Health Outreach and Network Development Grant Program - Amends the Public Health Service Act to rename the current Rural Health Outreach, Network Development, and Telemedicine Grant Program as the Rural Health Outreach and Network Development Grant Program, adding certain limitations on equipment purchases, construction, and real property acquisitions that apply to eligible networks under such newly renamed Grant Program.

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3 official files

• Introduced in Senate (text)

  Introduced in Senate · EN · 13 April 1999

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• Introduced in Senate (PDF)

  Introduced in Senate · EN · 13 April 1999

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• Introduced in Senate

  summary · EN · 13 April 1999

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