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Rep.
Hulshof Announces Telehealth Legislation
at 4th Annual Telehealth Leadership Conference
Sponsored by the Center for Telehealth & E-Health Law
Washington,
DC, June 8, 2005 – Missouri Congressman Kenny
Hulshof announced today that he and Congressman
Mike Thompson of California were introducing the
Medicare
Telehealth Enhancement Act of 2005 (HR 2807).
This legislation addresses some of the limits
that currently prevent telehealth from reaching
its full potential.
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CTeL applauds Congressman Hulshof and Congressman Thompson’s
leadership in addressing these barriers to telehealth
and providing adequate funding to the Office for the
Advancement of Telehealth (OAT). Telehealth is an important
and viable solution to addressing the increasing number
of shortages of health care providers, including nurses,
radiologists, dermatologists, dentists, mental health
providers, and allied health professionals in general
by improving access to health care for both rural and
urban patients and improving access to specialists from
around the world. In addition, telehealth has an important
role to play in homeland security, bio-terrorism, public
health surveillance and interventions.
Joe Tracy, Executive Director of the Missouri Telehealth
Network at University of Missouri Health Care and Chair,
Center for Telehealth & E-Health Law, stated: “Congressmen
Hulshof and Thompson recognize that telehealth is an
untapped jewel in the health care system for improving
outcomes, enhancing efficiencies, and reducing costs
to both federal programs, such as Medicare and Medicaid,
the Department of Defense, Department of Veterans Affairs,
Indian Health Service, Federal Employees Health Benefits
Program, among others, and for states dealing with incarcerated
populations and addressing public health challenges.”
The Medicare
Telehealth Enhancement Act of 2005
specifically would provide $30 million in funds for
telehealth. The legislation:
- Provides
an additional $10 million in telehealth grant funding
for the development of telehealth networks through
HRSA’s Office for the Advancement of Telehealth.
Allows for collaboration between non-profit and
for-profit entities as long as the non-profit serves
as the grantee.
- Reauthorizes
the Telehealth Network grant program at $10 million.
Reauthorizes the Telehealth Resource Centers grant
program also at $10 million.
- Provides
additional originating sites for telehealth, including
skilled nursing facilities, renal dialysis facility,
and county mental health clinic or other publicly
funded mental health facility
- Encourages
HHS to work with various groups on interstate licensure
issues which continue to be a major barrier to providing
telehealth services.
- Eliminates
reimbursement restrictions based on geography allowing
inner city areas to benefit from telehealth along
with those living in rural under served areas.
- Decouples
provider reimbursement from the originating site
fee allowing telehealth providers to be reimbursed
for seeing patients including sites that are not
only designated as originating sites.
- Requires
HRSA’s Office for the Advancement of Telehealth
(OAT) to conduct a study of store and forward technologies
for telehealth and the feasibility and advisability
of costs of expanding the use of the technologies
in the future.
Founded
over a decade ago, the Center for Telehealth & E-Health Law
(CTeL) is committed to overcoming the legal and regulatory
barriers to telehealth, e-health, and emerging health
technologies. CTeL is the foremost authority on public
policy issues facing telehealth.
The 2005 Telehealth Leadership Conference was cosponsored
by the Center for Telehealth & E-Health Law, the University
of Missouri, the American Telemedicine Association,
and AMD Telemedicine, Honeywell HomMed, Polycom, SBC,
Tandberg, and VBrick Systems, Inc.
For more information about telehealth or the Center for Telehealth & E-Health Law, please contact us at info@ctel.org or at 202.230.5090.
Center for Telehealth & E-Health Law
1500 K Street, NW, 11th Floor, Washington, DC 20005-3317
202.230.5090 Main | 202.230.5300 Fax | www.CTeL.org | info@ctel.org
Copyright © 2005. Center for Telehealth & E-Health Law.
Information presented on this site is for information purposes only and should not be relied upon as legal advice.
For information about your specific circumstances, please consult legal counsel.
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