On March 25, 2021, Representatives Dan Kildee (D-MI) https://dankildee.house.gov and Brad Wenstrup R-OH) https://dankildee.house.gov introduced their bipartisan bill, the Rural Behavioral Health Access Act of 2021.
The legislation would ensure that Critical Access Hospitals (CAH) retain crucial flexibility to provide behavioral health services through telehealth after the end of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Key provisions of the Rural Behavioral Health Access Act include:
- Allowing Medicare to provide payment for outpatient CAH services consisting of behavioral therapy when the individual is not located at the hospital
- Allowing the initiation of a new patient relationship via telehealth, but only when a plan of care has been established that includes in-person care
- Allowing the provision of behavioral therapy services through an audio-only interaction but only if audio visual capability is not available
Another bipartisan bill titled the Tele-Mental Health Improvement Act was introduced by Representatives David Trone (D-MD) https://trone.house.gov and Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) https://fitzpatrick.house.gov to improve access to telemental health during the length of the COVID-19 public health emergency.
The proposed legislation would:
- Require ERISA plans to cover mental health and SUD services provided through telehealth at the same reimbursement rate for the same service provided via an in-person visit
- Prohibit health plans from imposing additional barriers to accessing telemental health services
- Direct health plans to inform enrollees how they can access telemental health and SUD services
- Require HHS to issue a report on the impact of telehealth parity measures on the use of telehealth and in-person services