,,ii  #aafth ,,congress  #b;d ,session  
,s4 #dcdh  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of     
,,the ,,united ,,states  ,july #bh1     
#bjbj,mr4 ,cassidy 7for himself and ,ms4
 ,smith7 introduced the following bill2 
which was read twice and referred to the
 ,committee on ,finance  ,a ,,bill  ,to 
provide for the conduct of a ,,gao study
 and report on rural health access      
during the ,,covid-#ai pandemic4  #a4   
,short title ,this ,act may be cited as 
the ,rural ,health ,care ,access ,review
 ,act of #bjbj4  #b4 ,,gao study and    
report on rural health access during the
 ,,covid-#ai pandemic  7a7 ,study ,the  
,comptroller ,general of the ,united    
,states shall conduct a study on access 
to health care in rural areas during the
 public health emergency described in   
section #aace7;g77#a77;,b7 of the       
,social ,security ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4   
#acbj;b-#e7;g77#a77;,b774 ,such study   
shall include the following3 7#a7 ,to   
the extent data are available1 an       
analysis of access1 quality1 patient and

 provider experience1 and spending and  
utilization of telehealth services      
furnished during such public health     
emergency4 ,such evaluation shall be    
broken out by each of the following3    
7,a7 ,individuals enrolled in the       
,medicare and ,medicaid programs4  7,b7 
,the provider type and medical specialty
 of the practitioner furnishing the     
telehealth service4  7,c7 ,the modality 
under which such telehealth services    
were furnished-- 7i7 using audio-only   
technology2 and  7ii7 using audio-visual
 technology4  7#b7 ,to the extent data  
are available1 an analysis of how these 
flexibilities influenced private payer  
policies on telehealth4  7#c7 ,to the   
extent data are available1 an analysis  
of disparities in access to1 and quality
 of1 telehealth services during such    
public health emergency4  7#d7 ,to the  
extent data are available1 an analysis  
of barriers to accessing and providing  
telehealth services covered by the      
,medicare or ,medicaid programs1        

including those related to broadband    
infrastructure4  7#e7 ,an analysis of   
what is known about the privacy impacts 
of the waiver of ,federal privacy       
regulations during such public health   
emergency4  7b7 ,report ,not later than 
#bd months after the date of enactment  
of this ,act1 the ,comptroller ,general 
shall submit a report to the ,committee 
on ,finance and the ,committee on       
,health1 ,education1 ,labor1 and        
,pensions of the ,senate and the        
,committee on ,ways and ,means and the  
,committee on ,energy and ,commerce of  
the ,house of ,representatives          
containing the results of the study     
conducted under subsection 7a74  7c7    
,definition of rural area ,in this      
section1 the term rural area means an   
area classified as rural by the ,federal
 ,office of ,rural ,health ,policy of   
the ,health ,resources  ,services       
,administration4