Enrolled Bill Summary

            House Bill 2017 amends the Government Code to require the Health and Human Services Commission to develop and implement a system for reimbursement of Medicaid services performed using telemedicine and to encourage certain providers to participate as providers of telemedicine. The commission is prohibited from requiring that a service be provided through telemedicine when the service can reasonably be provided through a face-to-face consultation in the community in which the patient resides or works.

            The act amends the Medical Practice Act to authorize the Texas State Board of Medical Examiners, in consultation with the Health and Human Services Commission and the commissioner of insurance, to adopt rules to ensure that appropriate care is provided to Medicare and Medicaid patients who receive telemedicine services and to prevent abuse and fraud in the use of telemedicine services for Medicare and Medicaid patients.

            House Bill 2017 also directs Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, in cooperation with the Health and Human Services Commission, to pursue a waiver from the Health Care Financing Administration to receive reimbursement under the federal research and demonstration project for telemedicine services provided under the Medicare program.