US Congressmen Mike Thompson (D-Calif) and Glenn Thompson (R-Pa) plan to introduce bipartisan legislation that would incrementally allow Medicare to cover telehealth and remote patient monitoring services, MobiHealthNews reports.

Earlier this month, CMS in its proposal for the Physician Fee Schedule for calendar year 2015 proposed adding four services to the list of ones that Medicare beneficiaries can receive via telehealth:

  • Annual wellness visits;
  • Psychoanalysis;
  • Psychotherapy; and
  • Prolonged evaluation and management services.

The bill would amend Title XVIII of the Social Security Act, which limits government-reimbursed telehealth services to rural areas and certain cases, to gradually expand telehealth services covered under Medicare over a four-year period.

In addition, the bill would expand Medicare reimbursable services to include remote patient management services for chronic health conditions, such as:

  • Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease;
  • Congestive heart failure; and
  • Diabetes.