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.
- IntroducedApr 28, 2020
- Passed HouseNot reached
- Passed SenateNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- 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.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| R-TN | David P. Roe | Original | Apr 28, 2020 |
| D-NJ | Jefferson Van Drew | Original | Apr 28, 2020 |
| D-NY | Joseph D. Morelle | Original | Apr 28, 2020 |
| R-NY | John Katko | May 1, 2020 | |
| D-PA | Susan Wild | May 1, 2020 | |
| D-FL | Donna E. Shalala | May 12, 2020 | |
| D-NV | Susie Lee | May 15, 2020 | |
| D-IA | Cynthia Axne | May 22, 2020 | |
| D-CA | John Garamendi | May 26, 2020 | |
| D-AL | Terri A. Sewell | May 26, 2020 | |
| D-CT | Jahana Hayes | May 28, 2020 | |
| D-DE | Lisa Blunt Rochester | Jun 1, 2020 | |
| D-MI | Andy Levin | Jun 8, 2020 | |
| D-GA | David Scott | Jun 8, 2020 | |
| R-NC | Gregory F. Murphy | Jun 8, 2020 | |
| D-MN | Angie Craig | Jun 11, 2020 | |
| D-IA | Abby Finkenauer | Jun 15, 2020 | |
| D-MD | David J. Trone | Jun 15, 2020 | |
| D-CA | Grace F. Napolitano | Jun 15, 2020 | |
| D-NY | Paul Tonko | Jun 22, 2020 | |
| D-UT | Ben McAdams | Jul 1, 2020 | |
| D-NY | Thomas R. Suozzi | Jul 1, 2020 | |
| D-MN | Dean Phillips | Jul 16, 2020 | |
| D-MN | Ilhan Omar | Jul 20, 2020 | |
| D-NY | Max Rose | Jul 20, 2020 | |
| D-PA | Brendan F. Boyle | Aug 7, 2020 | |
| R-PA | Brian K. Fitzpatrick | Aug 14, 2020 | |
| D-OR | Peter A. DeFazio | Aug 28, 2020 | |
| D-RI | David N. Cicilline | Sep 1, 2020 | |
| D-OH | Joyce Beatty | Sep 11, 2020 | |
| D-CA | Tj Cox | Sep 11, 2020 | |
| D-VT | Peter Welch | Sep 17, 2020 | |
| D-FL | Debbie Wasserman Schultz | Sep 23, 2020 | |
| D-FL | Theodore E. Deutch | Sep 23, 2020 | |
| D-CA | Tony Cárdenas | Sep 23, 2020 | |
| D-TN | Steve Cohen | Sep 25, 2020 | |
| D-MD | C. A. Dutch Ruppersberger | Sep 30, 2020 | |
| D-DC | Eleanor Holmes Norton | Sep 30, 2020 | |
| D-MA | James P. McGovern | Sep 30, 2020 | |
| D-PA | Mary Gay Scanlon | Sep 30, 2020 | |
| D-PA | Madeleine Dean | Oct 6, 2020 | |
| R-AK | Don Young | Oct 9, 2020 | |
| D-PA | Dwight Evans | Oct 9, 2020 | |
| D-MI | Haley M. Stevens | Oct 13, 2020 | |
| D-IL | Bobby L. Rush | Oct 16, 2020 | |
| D-MD | Jamie Raskin | Oct 23, 2020 | |
| D-CA | Katie Porter | Oct 27, 2020 | |
| D-MA | Stephen F. Lynch | Oct 30, 2020 | |
| D-TX | Joaquin Castro | Nov 16, 2020 | |
| D-CA | Jared Huffman | Dec 16, 2020 |
Committees 3
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| House | Energy and Commerce Committee | Referred Apr 28, 2020 |
| House | Ways and Means Committee | Referred Apr 28, 2020 |
| House | Education and Workforce Committee | Referred Apr 28, 2020 |
Actions 2
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Apr 28, 2020Introduced in House
- 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.
| Where | In the Record | Members | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Senate | Debate and remarks S3050–S3052 | Lamar Alexander R-TN | Jun 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
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.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| S 3741 | Health Care at Home Act of 2020 | Related bill | May 14, 2020 |
| HR 8308 | Telehealth Coverage and Payment Parity Act | Related bill | Sep 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.
- Cardiovascular and respiratory health
- Drug, alcohol, tobacco use
- Emergency medical services and trauma care
- Employee benefits and pensions
- Health
- Health care costs and insurance
- Health care coverage and access
- Health technology, devices, supplies
- Infectious and parasitic diseases
- Internet and video services
- Internet, web applications, social media
- Mental health
- Telephone and wireless communication
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Apr 28, 2020Introduced in House
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.