PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Congressional Research Service
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People & committees
Rep. Walkinshaw, James R. [D-VA-11] · D–VA
Legislative record
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Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Primary sources
Text links open the official source. We also preserved the text version used in the PlainBill explanation below.
No related bills are listed in this snapshot. This does not establish whether the proposal has appeared in earlier Congresses.
Source last updated: Sep 22, 2026. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
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PlainBill explanation
Based on the full Introduced in House · 2026-09-14 text. This explanation has not received human editorial review. This overview describes the proposal’s major provisions; it does not establish what its real-world effects would be.
This proposal would require annual reports on Medicare-paid telehealth, or health care delivered remotely, and a public website displaying report data. The reports would examine use, access, available patient outcomes, and signs of improper billing. Medicare patients and health care providers would be consulted, but providers could not be required to submit new reports or meet new administrative requirements to supply the data.
Not later than 2 years after the date of the enactment of this paragraph, and annually thereafter, the Secretary shall submit
with respect to claims for telehealth services for which payment was made under this subsection
a publicly available dashboard displaying the aggregated information included in the most recent report submitted under such subparagraph in a searchable and downloadable format.
(V) an identification of which populations, if any, experienced rates of utilization of such services that, as determined by the Secretary, fell materially below the national average;
(VII) to the extent available, metrics with respect to patient outcomes after receiving such services for disease management, behavioral health, or preventive care; (VIII) an analysis (not including individual medical record review) of characteristics of such claims that are indicative of improper billing, including aberrant billing patterns identified through program integrity analytics;
(III) shall consult with individuals enrolled under this part, physicians and practitioners (including physicians and practitioners serving rural, underserved, and low-income populations), beneficiary advocates, and such other telehealth stakeholders as the Secretary may designate; and (IV) may not impose new reporting or administrative requirements on physicians and practitioners for the purposes of gathering data for such report.
The bill would add reporting requirements to the Social Security Act's Medicare telehealth payment provision. The Secretary would have to send the first report to the House Energy and Commerce Committee and Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee within two years after enactment, and submit reports annually thereafter.
Section 1834(m) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395m(m)) is amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
Not later than 2 years after the date of the enactment of this paragraph, and annually thereafter, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate a report that includes the information specified in clause (ii) in accordance with the requirements in clause (iii).
Each report would cover paid telehealth claims for a 12-month period ending 180 days before the report's deadline. It would count claims overall, by state, and for rural and urban areas, using the location of the service's originating site. These are counts of paid claims, not counts of individual patients.
with respect to claims for telehealth services for which payment was made under this subsection during the 12-month period ending on the date that is 180 days before the date on which such report is required to be submitted— (I) the total number of such claims; (II) the geographic distribution of such claims, including— (aa) with respect to each State, the number of such claims for which the originating site was located in such State; (bb) the number of such claims for which the originating site was located in a rural area (as defined in section 1886(d)(2)(D)); and (cc) the number of such claims for which the originating site was located in an urban area (as defined in such section);
Reports would discuss potential causes when total, state, rural, or urban claim counts changed by at least 10 percent compared with the previous 12-month period. The Secretary could choose a different percentage threshold.
(III) information with respect to potential causes of any changes of 10 percent or more (or such other percentage as the Secretary may determine) in the numbers reported under subclause (I), subclause (II)(aa), subclause (II)(bb), or subclause (II)(cc) when compared to the previous 12-month period;
Claim counts would be broken down by patients' age, race, ethnicity, income status, disability status, and preferred language when available. The Secretary could use an income indicator, such as eligibility for the named Medicare assistance programs, instead of income level.
(IV) the number of such claims disaggregated by the age, race, ethnicity, income level (or such other indicator of income status as the Secretary determines appropriate, including eligibility for the Medicare Savings Program, as defined in section 1144(c)(7), or for the low-income subsidy program under section 1860D–14), disability status, and, to the extent available, preferred language of individuals with respect to whom such claims were made;
Reports would identify populations whose use of covered telehealth services fell substantially below the national average, as determined by the Secretary. Where practicable using available federal broadband data, reports would describe internet or telecommunications barriers that may have limited those populations' access.
(V) an identification of which populations, if any, experienced rates of utilization of such services that, as determined by the Secretary, fell materially below the national average; (VI) to the extent practicable on the basis of Federal broadband availability data available to the Secretary, a description of whether there are any barriers to accessing broadband services or telecommunication technologies that may have limited access to such services for the populations identified under subclause (V);
Reports would include available measures of patient outcomes after telehealth services for disease management, behavioral health, or preventive care. The requirement is limited to measures that are available.
(VII) to the extent available, metrics with respect to patient outcomes after receiving such services for disease management, behavioral health, or preventive care;
Reports would analyze claim characteristics that suggest improper billing, including unusual patterns detected through payment oversight analysis. That analysis would exclude review of individual medical records. Reports would also describe information about actions taken to detect and prevent fraud, waste, and abuse in telehealth payments.
(VIII) an analysis (not including individual medical record review) of characteristics of such claims that are indicative of improper billing, including aberrant billing patterns identified through program integrity analytics; (IX) a description of any information with respect to actions taken to detect and prevent fraud, waste, and abuse with respect to payments for such services;
Reports would count the physicians and practitioners providing the covered telehealth services, identify their specialties, and describe any barriers to providing those services that they report.
(X) the number of physicians and practitioners who furnished such services; (XI) the specialties of such physicians and practitioners; and (XII) any barriers to furnishing such services that are reported by such physicians and practitioners.
The Secretary would have to use data already available and interpret it with appropriate methods and context, including outside factors affecting telehealth use.
(I) shall rely on data already available to the Secretary; (II) shall interpret such data using appropriate context and methodology, including by considering external factors affecting utilization of telehealth services for which payment is made under this subsection;
Report preparation would require consultation with Medicare enrollees, physicians and practitioners, patient advocates, and other telehealth stakeholders designated by the Secretary. Consultation must include providers serving rural, underserved, and low-income populations. The Secretary could not impose new reporting or administrative requirements on physicians and practitioners to gather report data.
(III) shall consult with individuals enrolled under this part, physicians and practitioners (including physicians and practitioners serving rural, underserved, and low-income populations), beneficiary advocates, and such other telehealth stakeholders as the Secretary may designate; and (IV) may not impose new reporting or administrative requirements on physicians and practitioners for the purposes of gathering data for such report.
Within 180 days after the first report's deadline, the Secretary would have to establish and maintain a public dashboard on the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services website. It would display grouped information from the most recent report in searchable and downloadable form.
Beginning not later than 180 days after the first date on which a report is required to be submitted under subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall establish and maintain on the internet website of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services a publicly available dashboard displaying the aggregated information included in the most recent report submitted under such subparagraph in a searchable and downloadable format.
Within 180 days after each report's deadline, the Secretary would have to publish descriptions of any standardized methods, definitions, and data specifications used to prepare that report on the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services website.
Not later than 180 days after each date on which a report is required to be submitted under subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall make publicly available on the internet website of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services a description of any standardized methodologies, definitions, and data specifications that were used in the preparation of such report.
Between three and five years after enactment, the Comptroller General would have to submit an implementation audit to Congress. It would include recommendations for improving the quality and usefulness of data on telehealth services paid under the specified Medicare provision.
(b) GAO audit Not earlier than 3 years after the date of the enactment of this Act and not later than 5 years after such date, the Comptroller General shall submit to Congress an audit of the implementation of this Act that includes recommendations on how to improve the quality and usefulness of data gathered with respect to telehealth services for which payment is made under section 1834(m) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395m(m)).
The supplied actions snapshot, updated September 22, 2026, records House introduction on September 14, 2026, and referral that day to the Energy and Commerce and Ways and Means Committees for provisions within their respective jurisdictions.
Source snapshot updated 2026-09-22T15:45:42Z.
2026-09-14: Introduced in House
2026-09-14: Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
A closer look
Reviewed version: Introduced in House · 2026-09-14. These findings describe provisions and who may benefit; they are not judgments of waste, corruption, or motive.
This review covers the supplied bill text. “None identified” does not rule out provisions in later versions or accompanying reports and disclosures.
Provisions outside the bill’s main subject, or policy changes attached to appropriations.
None identified in the reviewed text
No unrelated provision or appropriations policy rider was identified in the complete supplied introduced text. This conclusion is limited to that version and does not establish absence in other versions or accompanying materials.
Spending directed to particular recipients or places outside ordinary competitive or formula-based allocation.
None identified in the reviewed text
No congressionally directed spending for particular recipients or places was identified in the complete supplied introduced text. This conclusion is limited to that version; formal earmark determinations may require accompanying materials.
Narrow exceptions, exemptions, or preferential treatment that warrant a closer look.
None identified in the reviewed text
No materially narrow preferential benefit, carve-out, or special exemption was identified in the complete supplied introduced text. This conclusion is limited to that version and does not establish absence in other versions or accompanying materials.
Full text preserved for this analysis. Legislative record snapshot: Sep 22, 2026. How PlainBill uses AI