Protecting Rural Telehealth Access Act

This bill would permanently expand Medicare coverage for telehealth services by removing geographic restrictions on where a patient must be located to receive care. It proposes to allow a patient's home to serve as an eligible site for all services and would permit rural health clinics and federally qualified health centers to provide care as distant sites. Additionally, the bill would extend coverage to include audio-only services for behavioral health and certain evaluation and management visits.

This bill affects Medicare beneficiaries by removing geographic restrictions on where they can receive telehealth services, specifically allowing their homes to serve as originating sites. It also impacts health care practitioners at federally qualified health centers and rural health clinics by authorizing these facilities to serve as distant sites for telehealth. Additionally, patients and providers involved in behavioral health and evaluation and management services are affected by the expanded coverage of audio-only telehealth options.

• Removal of geographic restrictions on originating sites. The bill permanently eliminates existing geographic limitations regarding where a Medicare beneficiary must be located to receive telehealth services.
• Authorization of the home as an originating site. Medicare beneficiaries would be permanently permitted to receive all covered telehealth services from their place of residence.
• Expansion of distant site providers. The legislation allows rural health clinics and federally qualified health centers to serve as the distant site where the health care practitioner is located.
• Coverage for audio-only telehealth services. Medicare coverage is expanded to include audio-only interactions for behavioral health services as well as evaluation and management services.

The bill modifies existing Medicare coverage rules by permanently removing geographic restrictions on telehealth originating sites and expanding the types of facilities, such as federally qualified health centers and rural health clinics, authorized to serve as distant sites.

The bill aims to expand Medicare coverage for telehealth services by permanently removing geographic restrictions on where beneficiaries receive care and allowing federally qualified health centers and rural health clinics to provide these services. It also seeks to include audio-only options for behavioral health and evaluation and management services.