To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to remove in-person requirements under Medicare for mental health services furnished through telehealth and telecommunications technology.
Sponsored By: Representative Hern (OK)
Introduced
Summary
Expand Medicare telehealth coverage for mental health and substance use disorder care. This bill would remove certain location limits and erase looming sunset dates so Medicare can use telehealth more widely for diagnosing, evaluating, and treating mental health conditions and substance use disorders.
Show full summary
- Medicare patients with mental health or substance use disorder diagnoses: Could get telehealth for treatment and co‑occurring care without the usual geographic restrictions for services furnished on or after July 1, 2020 for SUD treatment and on or after the end of the emergency period for mental health care.
- Rural Health Clinics (RHCs) and Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs): Strikes the April 1, 2025 sunset so mental health visits provided by RHCs and FQHCs can continue to be billed via telehealth indefinitely.
- Clinicians and program oversight: Gives the Department of Health and Human Services Secretary authority to determine who is an eligible telehealth patient and when the expanded rules apply.
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Bill Overview
Analyzed Economic Effects
1 provisions identified: 1 benefits, 0 costs, 0 mixed.
More Medicare telehealth and clinic mental health
If enacted, Medicare would drop in-person location limits for telehealth mental health and substance use care. For substance use treatment, this would apply to services on or after July 1, 2020. For mental health care, it would start the day after the COVID-era emergency ends, at allowed sites. It would also remove the April 1, 2025 end dates. Rural Health Clinics and Federally Qualified Health Centers could keep billing for these mental health visits. You would still need to meet Medicare rules, and HHS would set which diagnoses and sites qualify.
Sponsors & CoSponsors
Sponsor
Hern (OK)
OK • R
Cosponsors
Suozzi
NY • D
Sponsored 3/5/2025
Fitzpatrick
PA • R
Sponsored 3/5/2025
Lee (NV)
NV • D
Sponsored 3/5/2025
Malliotakis
NY • R
Sponsored 3/5/2025
Roll Call Votes
No roll call votes available for this bill.
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