,i  #aafth ,,congress  #b;d ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #hjfj  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of  
,,representatives  ,august #ad1         
#bjbj,mr4 ,trone 7for himself and ,mr4  
,riggleman7 introduced the following    
bill2 which was referred to the         
,committee on ,energy and ,commerce1 and
 in addition to the ,committees on ,ways
 and ,means1 and ,education and ,labor1 
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     
require parity in the coverage of mental
 health and substance use disorder      
services provided to enrollees in       
private insurance plans1 whether such   
services are provided in-person or      
through telehealth4  #a4 ,short title   
,this ,act may be cited as the          
,tele-,mental ,health ,improvement ,act4
  #b4 ,findings ,congress finds the     
following3 7#a7 ,prior to the           
,,covid-#ai pandemic1 the ,united       

,states faced a mental health crisis4   
7#b7 ,this mental health crisis touches 
all age groups4 ,suicide rates among    
individuals ages #aj through #bd        
increased by #ef percent from #bjjg to  
#bjag4 ,more than #be percent of college
 students have been diagnosed or treated
 by a professional for a mental health  
condition within the past year4 ,nearly 
one in five adults in the ,united       
,states live with a mental illness4     
,suicide rates for all ages increased   
from #aiii to #bjaf4  7#c7 ,the         
,,covid-#ai pandemic has resulted in    
large-scale economic hardship and long  
periods of social isolation for         
,americans4  7#d7 ,in non-crisis        
conditions1 a #a-point increase in      
unemployment correlates to a #a4c       
percent increase in suicide rates4 ,in  
,april #bjbj1 the unemployment rate     
increased from #d4d percent to #ad4g    
percent4  7#e7 ,exposure to large-scale 
trauma like the current pandemic        
commonly results in negative emotional  

states1 acute stress1 physical health   
complaints1 and poor sleep1 particularly
 during the initial onset of the trauma4
  7#f7 ,people who receive practical and
 social support and resources soon after
 the initial onset of a trauma tend to  
have better outcomes4  7#g7 ,there is an
 increased need for mental health       
services to be provided through         
telehealth platforms due to the         
necessity for social distancing4  #c4   
,coverage of telehealth mental health   
and substance use disorder services  7a7
 ,in general ,during the public health  
emergency declared by the ,secretary of 
,health and ,human ,services under      
section #cai of the ,public ,health     
,service ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #bdg;d7 on 
,january #ca1 #bjbj1 with respect to    
,,covid-#ai1 if a group health plan or  
group or individual health insurance    
coverage provides coverage of a mental  
health or substance use disorder service
 provided in-person1 the group health   
plan or health insurance issuer offering

 such group or individual health        
insurance coverage-- 7#a7 shall provide 
coverage of the service provided through
 telehealth at the same rate as the     
coverage for the same service provided  
in-person2  7#b7 shall ensure that      
providers not charge enrollees facility 
fees2  7#c7 may not impose additional   
barriers on obtaining such coverage for 
such services through telehealth1       
compared to coverage for such services  
provided in-person1 such as a prior     
authorization requirements1 a           
requirement that the enrollee have a    
pre-existing relationship with the      
provider1 a requirement that a provider 
be present with the enrollee during the 
provision of services1 or any other     
financial requirement1 treatment        
limitation1 or utilization control      
policy or procedure2  7#d7 shall provide
 notice to enrollees1 informing such    
enrollees of how to access in-network   
telehealth mental health and substance  
use disorder services and the scope of  

their coverage2 and  7#e7 shall work    
with providers to ensure that telehealth
 services are provided to enrollees in  
compliance with1 as applicable1 the     
privacy regulations promulgated pursuant
 to section #bfd7;c7 of the ,health     
,insurance ,portability and             
,accountability ,act of #aiif 7#db      
,u4,s4,c4 #acbj;d-#b7 or privacy        
guidelines promulgated and implemented  
by the ,secretary of ,health and ,human 
,services during a public health        
emergency4  7b7 ,enforcement ,the       
provisions of subsection 7a7 shall be   
applied by the ,secretary of ,health and
 ,human ,services1 ,secretary of ,labor1
 and ,secretary of the ,treasury to     
group health plans and health insurance 
issuers offering group or individual    
health insurance coverage as if included
 in the provisions of part ,a of title  
,,xxvii of the ,public ,health ,service 
,act1 part #g of the ,employee          
,retirement ,income ,security ,act of   
#aigd1 and subchapter ,b of chapter #ajj

 of the ,internal ,revenue ,code of     
#aihf1 as applicable4  7c7              
,implementation ,the ,secretary of      
,health and ,human ,services1 ,secretary
 of ,labor1 and ,secretary of the       
,treasury may implement the provisions  
of this section through sub-regulatory  
guidance1 program instruction1 or       
otherwise4  7d7 ,definitions ,in this   
section-- 7#a7 the terms group health   
plan1 health insurance issuer1 and      
health insurance coverage have the      
meanings given such terms in section    
#bgia of the ,public ,health ,service   
,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #cjj;gg- #ia71      
section #gcc of the ,employee           
,retirement ,income ,security ,act of   
#aigd 7#bi ,u4,s4,c4 #aaia;b71 and      
section #ihcb of the ,internal ,revenue 
,code of #aihf1 as applicable2 and  7#b7
 the term telehealth services has the   
meaning given such term in section      
#ccj;,i7a7 of the ,public ,health       
,service ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4            
#bed;c-#ad7;a771 and includes #b-way    

video communication1 audio-only         
communication1 and written information  
shared by phone or email4  7e7 ,rule of 
construction ,nothing in this section   
shall prevent the application of any    
,state law that is not inconsistent with
 this section4  7f7 ,report to ,congress
 ,not later than #ahj days after the    
conclusion of the public health         
emergency described in subsection 7a71  
the ,secretary of ,health and ,human    
,services shall submit to the ,committee
 on ,health1 ,education1 ,labor1 and    
,pensions of the ,senate1 the ,committee
 on ,education and ,labor of the ,house 
of ,representatives1 and the ,committee 
on ,energy and ,commerce of the ,house  
of ,representatives on the impacts the  
requirement under subsection 7a7 has on 
the use of both telehealth services and 
health services provided in-person4