House bill would broaden Medicare telehealth reimbursement

Bipartisan legislation soon to be introduced would expand Medicare reimbursement for telehealth services over a four-year period.

Reps. Mike Thompson (D-Calif.) and Glenn Thompson (R-Penn.) are planning to introduce the Medicare Telehealth Parity Act of 2014, which would require reimbursement for a greater range of telehealth services.

In particular, the bill would authorize reimbursement for telehealth services rendered in urban areas; currently such services only are reimbursed for beneficiaries seeking care at approved rural healthcare facilities. Also, the legislation would expand eligible locations for reimbursement to include retail clinics and a patient’s home, and would lift restrictions on store-and-forward technology, for which clinical data is collected and reviewed at a later time. 

In addition, the bill would authorize reimbursement for remote patient monitoring for patients with chronic conditions.

Read the bill here.