,i  #aafth ,,congress  #b;d ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #egfc  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of  
,,representatives  ,february #e1        
#bjbj,mr4 ,gianforte 7for himself and   
,ms4 ,eshoo7 introduced the following   
bill2 which was referred to the         
,committee on ,energy and ,commerce  ,a 
,,bill  ,to amend the ,public ,health   
,service ,act to advance telehealth by  
developing a plan for adoption and      
coordination by ,federal agencies1 and  
for other purposes4  #a4 ,short title   
,this ,act may be cited as the ,national
 ,telehealth ,strategy and ,data        
,advancement ,act4  #b4 ,recommendations
 on framework to advance telehealth  7a7
 ,in general ,section #ccj;,i of the    
,public ,health ,service ,act 7#db      
,u4,s4,c4 #bed;c-#ad7 is amended--  7#a7
 in subsection 7a7-- 7,a7 in paragraph  
7#a7 to read as follows3  7#a7 ,director
 ,the term ,director means the ,director
 of the ,office for the ,advancement of 
,telehealth as established under        
subsection 7c74  2 and  7,b7 in         

paragraph 7#g71 by inserting ,such term 
includes connected care4 after health42 
7#b7 in subsection 7b71 by striking     
under section #cja and inserting under  
subsection 7d72  7#c7 in subsection     
7c7-- 7,a7 in paragraph 7#a7--  7i7 by  
striking ,health ,resources and         
,services ,administration and inserting 
,office of the ,secretary2 and  7ii7 by 
inserting 7referred to in this section  
as the ,office7 after ,telehealth2 and  
7,b7 in paragraph 7#b71 by striking     
under section #cja and inserting under  
subsection 7d72  7#d7 in subsection 7h71
 by striking 1 in a publication of the  
,health ,resources and ,services        
,administration1 and inserting on a     
publicly accessible website of the      
,department of ,health and ,human       
,services1 a2 and  7#e7 by striking     
subsection 7s7 and inserting the        
following3  7s7 ,plan and               
recommendations ,to advance telehealth  
7#a7 ,in general ,the ,secretary shall--
  7,a7 not later than one year after the

 date of the enactment of this ,act     
develop a plan for the adoption1        
advancement1 and coordination of        
telehealth by ,federal agencies2  7,b7  
update every two years the plan         
developed under subparagraph 7,a7 and   
make recommendations to improve access  
to telehealth1 coordination of          
telehealth by ,federal agencies1 and    
health outcomes with respect to the use 
of telehealth as a means to deliver     
health care services as the ,secretary  
determines to be appropriate2  7,c7     
standardize ,federal telehealth grant   
processes and data reporting to build a 
comprehensive evidence base in order to 
enable high-quality and effective use of
 telehealth to deliver health care      
services2  7,d7 provide assistance to   
regional and national entities to enable
 greater use of telehealth in health    
care delivery by individuals1 health    
care providers1 cities1 and ,states2    
7,e7 provide ,federal governance and    
oversight of ,federal expenditures on   

telehealth and broadband that facilitate
 the delivery of telehealth services2   
and  7,f7 ensure information sharing1   
cross-,federal collaboration1 and       
accountability across all ,federal      
agencies4  7#b7 ,recommendations ,the   
plan under paragraph 7#a77;,a7 shall    
include recommendations to address each 
of the following3 7,a7 ,achieving a     
standardized application system for     
,federal telehealth grants across the   
,department of ,health and ,human       
,services1 the ,department of           
,agriculture1 the ,department of        
,defense1 and other agencies as the     
,secretary determines to be appropriate4
  7,b7 ,establishing a publicly         
available database of all telehealth    
grants across ,federal agencies4  7,c7  
,establishing a standardized set of     
outcome measures with a focus on cost   
and quality of care delivered via       
telehealth4  7,d7 ,requiring recipients 
of ,federal telehealth grants to report 
standardized outcomes measures4  7,e7   

,standardizing data collection and      
reporting across recipients of ,federal 
telehealth grants4  7,f7 ,developing a  
public repository for data reported for 
research purposes through the           
standardized set of outcome measures    
under subparagraph 7,c7 by recipients of
 ,federal telehealth grants4  7,g7      
,protecting information disclosed in    
subparagraph 7,f7 by applying the       
provisions of the ,,hipaa privacy       
regulation 7as defined in section       
#aahj7;b77#c7 of the ,social ,security  
,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #acbj;d-#i77 to the 
entity receiving and disclosing such    
information in the same manner as such  
provisions would apply to such          
information if received or disclosed by 
a covered entity 7as such term is       
defined for purposes of such            
regulation74  7,h7 ,incentivizing       
research on reported data to build a    
strong base of evidence on the impacts  
of telehealth on cost and quality of    
care4  7,i7 ,additional priority target 

areas as determined appropriate by the  
,secretary4  7#c7 ,consultation ,in     
developing recommendations under        
subparagraphs 7,a7 through 7,e7 of      
paragraph 7#b71 the ,secretary shall    
consult with the following individuals  
or their designees3  7,a7 ,the heads of 
each agency1 division1 element1 or      
organization under the ,department of   
,health and ,human ,services4  7,b7 ,the
 ,secretary of ,veterans ,affairs4  7,c7
 ,the ,secretary of ,defense4  7,d7 ,the
 ,director of the ,office of ,management
 and ,budget4  7,e7 ,the ,comptroller   
,general of the ,united ,states4  7,f7  
,the ,chairman of the ,federal          
,communications ,commission4  7,g7 ,the 
,chairman of the ,federal ,trade        
,commission4  7,h7 ,the ,director of the
 ,national ,institute of ,standards and 
,technology4  7,i7 ,the ,director of the
 ,national ,science ,foundation4  7,j7  
,the ,administrator of the ,national    
,aeronautics and ,space ,administration4
  7,k7 ,the head of any other ,federal  

agency that the ,secretary determines to
 be appropriate4  7#d7 ,public comment  
period ,not later than #c months after  
developing the plan required under      
paragraph 7#a77;,a71 the ,secretary     
shall publish in the ,federal ,register 
a notice providing for an opportunity   
for the public to comment on the        
recommendations developed under         
subparagraphs 7,a7 through 7,e7 of      
paragraph 7#b74  7#e7 ,reports  7,a7 ,in
 general ,the ,secretary shall submit to
 ,congress a biennial report on ,federal
 expenditures on telehealth and the     
progress of agencies adopting and       
effectively using telehealth4  7,b7     
,elements of report ,each report shall  
include the following3 7i7 ,an update on
 ,federal investments in telehealth4    
7ii7 ,an assessment of the percentage of
 the costs of health care services      
delivered via telehealth that are paid  
using ,federal funds4  7iii7 ,an update 
on efforts to improve access to         
telehealth4  7t7 ,authorization of      

appropriations ,there are authorized to 
be appropriated to carry out this       
section--  7#a7 for grants under        
subsection 7d77#a71 #cj1jjj1jjj for each
 of fiscal years #bjba through #bjbe2   
7#b7 for grants under subsection        
7d77#b71 #aj1jjj1jjj for each of fiscal 
years #bjba through #bjbe2 and  7#c7 for
 the activities described in subsection 
7s71 #aj1jjj1jjj for each of fiscal     
years #bjba through #bjbe4  4  7b7      
,conforming amendment ,section          
#ccj,k7b77#a7 of the ,public ,health    
,service ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4            
#bed;c-#af7;b77#a77 is amended by       
striking ,health ,resources and         
,services ,administration and inserting 
,office of the ,secretary4