HR 6644 · 116th Congress 2019–2021, ended

To require group health plans and health insurance issuers offering group or individual health insurance coverage to provide coverage for services furnished via telehealth if such services would be covered if furnished in-person during the COVID-19 emergency.

Latest action · Apr 28, 2020 Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committees on Ways and Means, and Education and Labor, 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.

Progress

Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.

  1. IntroducedApr 28, 2020
  2. Passed HouseNot reached
  3. Passed SenateNot reached
  4. To the PresidentNot reached
  5. Became lawNot reached

Summary

This bill requires private health insurance plans to cover certain services provided via telecommunications systems (i.e., telehealth) during the COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) public health emergency. Specifically, the telehealth services must be deemed medically necessary by a health care provider and covered under the plan if provided in person. Plans must apply the same cost-sharing and reimbursement amounts that would otherwise apply to such services and may waive cost-sharing requirements for any services to diagnose or treat COVID-19, including via telehealth.

Cosponsors 50

Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Apr 28, 2020 to Dec 16, 2020; 3 are original cosponsors, there from the day it was introduced.

SeatCosponsorSigned on
R-TNDavid P. RoeOriginalApr 28, 2020
D-NJJefferson Van DrewOriginalApr 28, 2020
D-NYJoseph D. MorelleOriginalApr 28, 2020
R-NYJohn KatkoMay 1, 2020
D-PASusan WildMay 1, 2020
D-FLDonna E. ShalalaMay 12, 2020
D-NVSusie LeeMay 15, 2020
D-IACynthia AxneMay 22, 2020
D-CAJohn GaramendiMay 26, 2020
D-ALTerri A. SewellMay 26, 2020
D-CTJahana HayesMay 28, 2020
D-DELisa Blunt RochesterJun 1, 2020
D-MIAndy LevinJun 8, 2020
D-GADavid ScottJun 8, 2020
R-NCGregory F. MurphyJun 8, 2020
D-MNAngie CraigJun 11, 2020
D-IAAbby FinkenauerJun 15, 2020
D-MDDavid J. TroneJun 15, 2020
D-CAGrace F. NapolitanoJun 15, 2020
D-NYPaul TonkoJun 22, 2020
D-UTBen McAdamsJul 1, 2020
D-NYThomas R. SuozziJul 1, 2020
D-MNDean PhillipsJul 16, 2020
D-MNIlhan OmarJul 20, 2020
D-NYMax RoseJul 20, 2020
D-PABrendan F. BoyleAug 7, 2020
R-PABrian K. FitzpatrickAug 14, 2020
D-ORPeter A. DeFazioAug 28, 2020
D-RIDavid N. CicillineSep 1, 2020
D-OHJoyce BeattySep 11, 2020
D-CATj CoxSep 11, 2020
D-VTPeter WelchSep 17, 2020
D-FLDebbie Wasserman SchultzSep 23, 2020
D-FLTheodore E. DeutchSep 23, 2020
D-CATony CárdenasSep 23, 2020
D-TNSteve CohenSep 25, 2020
D-MDC. A. Dutch RuppersbergerSep 30, 2020
D-DCEleanor Holmes NortonSep 30, 2020
D-MAJames P. McGovernSep 30, 2020
D-PAMary Gay ScanlonSep 30, 2020
D-PAMadeleine DeanOct 6, 2020
R-AKDon YoungOct 9, 2020
D-PADwight EvansOct 9, 2020
D-MIHaley M. StevensOct 13, 2020
D-ILBobby L. RushOct 16, 2020
D-MDJamie RaskinOct 23, 2020
D-CAKatie PorterOct 27, 2020
D-MAStephen F. LynchOct 30, 2020
D-TXJoaquin CastroNov 16, 2020
D-CAJared HuffmanDec 16, 2020

Committees 3

Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.

ChamberCommitteeWhat it did
HouseEnergy and Commerce Committee
Referred Apr 28, 2020
HouseWays and Means Committee
Referred Apr 28, 2020
HouseEducation and Workforce Committee
Referred Apr 28, 2020

Actions 2

Everything that happened, newest first.

  1. Apr 28, 2020Introduced in House
  2. Apr 28, 2020Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committees on Ways and Means, and Education and Labor, 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.

In the Congressional Record 1

Days the Record’s own index lists this bill, newest first, with the pages and the members it names. Pages starting H are the House, S the Senate, E Extensions of Remarks.

WhereIn the RecordMembersDate
SenateDebate and remarks S3050–S3052Lamar Alexander R-TNJun 17, 2020

Research

What has been written about this bill: committee reports, cost estimates, the sponsor’s authority statement, printed hearings and the Congressional Research Service’s work.

Constitutional authority

Congress has the power to enact this legislation pursuant to the following: Article 1

The sponsor’s statement, as printed in the Congressional Record, vol. 166, no. 80, April 28, 2020, page H1965.

Related bills 2

Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.

BillTitleRelationshipLatest action
S 3741Health Care at Home Act of 2020Related billMay 14, 2020
HR 8308Telehealth Coverage and Payment Parity ActRelated billSep 17, 2020

Titles 1

Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.

Official Title as Introduced
To require group health plans and health insurance issuers offering group or individual health insurance coverage to provide coverage for services furnished via telehealth if such services would be covered if furnished in-person during the COVID-19 emergency.

Subjects

Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Health.

Text 1

Each version as it was printed, newest first.

  1. Apr 28, 2020Introduced in House

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Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.