Page 5 Telehealth Enhancement Act of 2015

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Impact and Analysis (cont.)

A notable addition to the list of telehealth originating sites in the bill is a “home telehealth
site.” However, a home would only qualify as a home telehealth site, according to the bill,
if the service rendered relates to the provision of hospice care or home dialysis, or
furnished to an individual who is homebound. Additionally, Medicare does not currently
reimburse for RPM, which lends itself to use in the home. Therefore, the impact would be
narrowly confined to live video services for the provision of hospice care, home dialysis,
or to patients who are homebound. This is also the only place a “telehealth service” is
defined in the bill, and the definition only applies to this particular section.

Current law restricts Medicare reimbursement of services delivered through
store-and-forward to demonstration projects in Alaska and Hawaii. HR 2066 would
expand store-and-forward reimbursement to critical access hospitals or sole community
hospitals, cementing store-and-forward as a viable method for delivering services.
Store-and-forward would not be available to other originating sites.

Additional changes proposed by HR 2066 include:
• The addition of ambulance providers, health clinics of elementary and secondary
schools and post secondary education institutions, and sites where telehealth
services are provided to the list of health care providers eligible to receive Universal
Service Support rural health discounts, including Healthcare Connect Fund grants.

• The creation of a positive incentive for Medicare’s hospital readmissions reduction
program. This incentive would be derived from the additional payment that would be
made from the shared savings achieved from a better than expected performance in
reducing hospital readmissions. This provision is a mandate.

• The addition of telehealth and RPM to the National Pilot Program on Payment Bun-
dling.

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