,i  #aafth ,,congress  #ast ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #bejh  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of  
,,representatives  ,may #b1 #bjai,mr4   
,thompson of ,california 7for himself1  
,mr4 ,cox of ,california1 ,mr4 ,carter  
of ,georgia1 and ,mr4 ,kelly of         
,pennsylvania7 introduced the following 
bill2 which was referred to the         
,committee on ,energy and ,commerce1 and
 in addition to the ,committee on ,ways 
and ,means1 for a period to be          
subsequently determined by the ,speaker1
 in each case for consideration of such 
provisions as fall within the           
jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
,a ,,bill  ,to provide for a pilot      
program to include respiratory          
therapists as telehealth practitioners  
under the ,medicare program4  #a4 ,short
 title ,this ,act may be cited as the   
,better ,respiration through ,expanding 
,access to ,tele-,health ,act or the    
,,breathe ,act4  #b4 ,pilot program for 
including respiratory therapists as     
telehealth practitioners under the      

,medicare program  7a7 ,in general      
,beginning not later than #f months     
after the date of the enactment of this 
,act1 the ,secretary of ,health and     
,human ,services shall establish a      
#c-year pilot program under title       
,,xviii of the ,social ,security ,act   
with respect to furnishing telehealth   
disease management services to eligible 
telehealth individuals who are diagnosed
 with chronic obstructive pulmonary     
disease for purposes of determining the 
value of including qualifying           
respiratory therapists as telehealth    
practitioners under the ,medicare       
program to improve health outcomes for1 
reduce unnecessary emergency department 
visits and hospital admissions and      
readmissions of1 and lower the cost of  
care provided to such individuals4  7b7 
,telehealth access ,under the pilot     
program1 coverage shall be provided     
under title ,,xviii of the ,social      
,security ,act for telehealth disease   
management services furnished to        

eligible telehealth individuals who are 
diagnosed with chronic obstructive      
pulmonary disease by applying section   
#ahcd7m7 of such ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4    
#aciem7m771 as if--  7#a7 the reference 
in paragraph 7#a7 of such section to a  
practitioner 7as described in section   
#ahdb7;b77#ah77;,c77 were a reference to
 a practitioner 7as defined in paragraph
 7#d77;,e772  7#b7 paragraph 7#b77;,b7  
of such section does not apply to any   
site that satisfies the definition of   
the term originating site applied       
pursuant to paragraph 7#c7 and that     
would not otherwise be included as an   
originating site without application of 
such paragraph2  7#c7 the definition    
under paragraph 7#d77;,c7 of such       
section for the term originating site   
included as a site described in clause  
7ii7 of such paragraph the place of     
residence of such individual1 regardless
 of whether such place of residence     
satisfies the conditions described in   
subclause 7,i71 7,,ii71 or 7,,iii7 of   

clause 7i7 of such paragraph2  7#d7 the 
definition in paragraph 7#d77;,e7 of    
such section for the term practitioner  
included qualifying respiratory         
therapists2 and  7#e7 the definition in 
paragraph 7#d77;,f7 of such section for 
telehealth services included the        
following ,,hcpcs codes #ihifj1 #idffd1 
#iidjf1 #iidjg1 and #iijia4  7c7        
,payment modifier ,for purposes of the  
pilot program1 the ,secretary shall     
establish a payment modifier to ensure  
the collection of data relevant to      
telehealth disease management services  
furnished directly by a qualifying      
respiratory therapist to eligible       
telehealth individuals who are diagnosed
 with chronic obstructive pulmonary     
disease4  7d7 ,report ,not later than   
one year after the last date of the     
pilot program1 the ,secretary of ,health
 and ,human ,services shall submit to   
,congress a report on the findings of   
the program1 including if acute care    
interventions were reduced and the      

health status of eligible telehealth    
individuals who are diagnosed with      
chronic obstructive pulmonary disease   
was improved based on the lower         
utilization of services4  7e7           
,definitions ,for purposes of this      
section3 7#a7 ,the term eligible        
telehealth individual has the meaning   
given such term in section #ahcd7m77#d7 
of the ,social ,security ,act 7#db      
,u4,s4,c4 #aciem7m77#d774  7#b7 ,the    
term qualifying respiratory therapist   
means a respiratory therapist who-- 7,a7
 is credentialed by a national          
credentialing board recognized by the   
,secretary of ,health and ,human        
,services2  7,b7 if applicable1 is      
licensed in the ,state in which the     
therapist furnishes the services        
involved2  7,c7 holds the credential of 
,registered ,respiratory ,therapist2 and
  7,d7 has a minimum of a bachelor's    
degree or other advanced degree in      
biological or health science4  7#c7 ,the
 term telehealth disease management     

services means any of the following     
disease management services furnished   
via a telecommunications system by a    
qualifying respiratory therapist3  7,a7 
,self-management education and training4
  7,b7 ,demonstration and evaluation of 
inhaler techniques4  7,c7 ,smoking      
cessation counseling4  7,d7 ,remote     
patient monitoring4