,,ii  #aahth ,,congress  #ast ,session  
,s4 #bhhj  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of     
,,the ,,united ,,states  ,september #ba1
 #bjbc,mr4 ,daines 7for himself1 ,ms4   
,smith1 ,ms4 ,murkowski1 ,ms4 ,rosen1   
and ,mr4 ,moran7 introduced the         
following bill2 which was read twice and
 referred to the ,committee on ,finance 
,a ,,bill  ,to amend title ,,xviii of   
the ,social ,security ,act to expand the
 scope of practitioners eligible for    
payment for telehealth services under   
the ,medicare program1 and for other    
purposes4  #a4 ,short title ,this ,act  
may be cited as the ,expanded           
,telehealth ,access ,act4  #b4          
,expanding the scope of practitioners   
eligible for payment for telehealth     
services under ,medicare ,section       
#ahcd7m7 of the ,social ,security ,act  
7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #aciem7m77 is amended--  
7#a7 in paragraph 7#b77;,a71 by         
inserting the following before the      
period3 7or1 in the case of a telehealth
 service furnished on or after the date 

of enactment of the ,expanded           
,telehealth ,access ,act by a therapy or
 therapist assistant described in       
subclause 7,,ii7 or 7,,iii7 of paragraph
 7#d77;,e77ii71 the ,secretary shall pay
 with respect to such service furnished 
by such assistant the amount that would 
have been paid under this title with    
respect to such service furnished by    
such assistant had such service been    
furnished without the use of a          
telecommunications system72 and  7#b7 in
 paragraph 7#d71 by striking            
subparagraph 7,e7 and inserting the     
following3  7,e7 ,practitioner described
 ,the term practitioner means any of the
 following3 7i7 ,a practitioner         
described in section                    
#ahdb7;b77#ah77;,c74  7ii7 ,with respect
 to telehealth services furnished on or 
after the date of enactment of the      
,expanded ,telehealth ,access ,act--    
7,i7 a qualified audiologist 7as defined
 in section #ahfa7ll77#d77;,b772  7,,ii7
 an occupational therapist and          

occupational therapy assistant under the
 supervision of an occupational         
therapist2  7,,iii7 a physical therapist
 and physical therapist assistant under 
the supervision of a physical therapist2
  7,,iv7 a qualified speech-language    
pathologist 7as defined in section      
#ahfa7ll77#d77;,a772  7,v7 a facility or
 other entity described in paragraph    
7#h7 or 7#i7 of section #ahcc7;a7 that  
furnishes a telehealth therapy service2 
and  7,,vi7 any additional provider of  
services or supplier1 as specified by   
the ,secretary1 that is participating in
 the program under this title and       
furnishes a telehealth service4  4