Healthcare IT News reports…

The House of Representatives has drafted a bill that would provide new virtual care options for American employees.

WHY IT MATTERS
The proposed Telehealth Benefit Expansion for Workers Act would enable job creators to offer standalone telehealth service programs – not unlike dental and vision plans – in addition to existing health insurance plans.

The legislation was introduced by Reps. Suzan DelBene, D-Wash., Jackie Walorski, R-Ind., Tim Walberg, R-Mich., and Angie Craig, D-Minn. It would expand access to employer-sponsored health benefits by classifying telehealth as an excepted benefit.

Specifically, the bill would amend HIPAA and the Affordable Care Act to allow employees to receive this benefit, maintaining that any standalone telehealth service would remain separate from traditional health plans, rather than as a replacement.