Telehealth Improvement for Kids' Essential Services Act or the TIKES Act
This bill requires several agencies to promote and evaluate the use of telehealth under Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP).
Specifically, the bill requires (1) the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to issue guidance to states on ways to increase access to telehealth; (2) the Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission to study the impact of telehealth on health care access, utilization, costs, and outcomes; and (3) the Government Accountability Office to evaluate federal interagency collaboration with respect to the provision of telehealth services to individuals under the age of 18.
[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1798 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
<DOC>
117th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 1798
To provide for strategies to increase access to telehealth under the
Medicaid program and Children's Health Insurance Program, and for other
purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
May 25, 2021
Mr. Carper (for himself and Mr. Cornyn) introduced the following bill;
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To provide for strategies to increase access to telehealth under the
Medicaid program and Children's Health Insurance Program, and for other
purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Telehealth Improvement for Kids'
Essential Services Act'' or the ``TIKES Act''.
SEC. 2. STRATEGIES TO INCREASE ACCESS TO TELEHEALTH UNDER MEDICAID AND
CHILDREN'S HEALTH INSURANCE PROGRAM.
(a) Guidance.--Not later than 1 year after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall
issue and disseminate guidance to States to clarify strategies to
overcome existing barriers and increase access to telehealth under the
Medicaid program under title XIX of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C.
1396 et seq.) and the Children's Health Insurance Program under title
XXI of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1397aa et seq.). Such guidance shall include
technical assistance and best practices regarding--
(1) telehealth delivery of covered services;
(2) recommended voluntary billing codes, modifiers, and
place-of-service designations for telehealth and other virtual
health care services;
(3) the simplification or alignment (including through
reciprocity) of provider licensing, credentialing, and
enrollment protocols with respect to telehealth across States,
State Medicaid plans under such title XIX, and Medicaid managed
care organizations, including during national public health
emergencies;
(4) existing strategies States can use to integrate
telehealth and other virtual health care services into value-
based health care models; and
(5) examples of States that have used waivers under the
Medicaid program to test expanded access to telehealth,
including during the emergency period described in section
1135(g)(1)(B) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1320b-
5(g)(1)(B)).
(b) Studies.--
(1) Telehealth impact on health care access.--Not later
than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the
Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission shall conduct a
study, with respect to a minimum of 10 States across geographic
regions of the United States, and submit to Congress a report,
on the impact of telehealth on health care access, utilization,
cost, and outcomes, broken down by race, ethnicity, sex, age,
disability status, and zip code. Such report shall--
(A) evaluate cost, access, utilization, outcomes,
and patient experience data from across the health care
field, including States, Medicaid managed care
organizations, provider organizations, and other
organizations that provide or pay for telehealth under
the Medicaid program and Children's Health Insurance
Program;
(B) identify barriers and potential solutions to
provider entry and participation in telehealth that
States are experiencing, as well as barriers to
providing telehealth across State lines, including
during times of public health crisis or public health
emergency;
(C) determine the frequency at which out-of-State
telehealth is provided to patients enrolled in the
Medicaid program and the potential impact on access to
telehealth if State Medicaid policies were more
aligned; and
(D) identify and evaluate opportunities for more
alignment among such policies to promote access to
telehealth across all States, State Medicaid plans
under title XIX of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C.
1396 et seq.), State child health plans under title XXI
of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1397aa et seq.), and Medicaid
managed care organizations, including the potential for
regional compacts or reciprocity agreements.
(2) Federal agency telehealth collaboration.--Not later
than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the
Comptroller General of the United States shall conduct a study
and submit to Congress a report evaluating collaboration
between Federal agencies with respect to telehealth services
furnished under the Medicaid or CHIP program to individuals
under the age of 18, including such services furnished to such
individuals in early care and education settings. Such report
shall include recommendations on--
(A) opportunities for Federal agencies to improve
collaboration with respect to such telehealth services;
and
(B) opportunities for collaboration between Federal
agencies to expand telehealth access to such
individuals enrolled under the Medicaid or CHIP
program, including in early care and education
settings.
<all>
Introduced in Senate
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
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