Sec. 6. GAO report on State Medicaid programs' use of telehealth to increase access to maternity care
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/bill/118/s/3090/is/section-6A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States shall submit a report to Congress on State Medicaid programs' use of telehealth to increase access to maternity care. Such report shall include the following: The number of State Medicaid programs that utilize telehealth that increases access to maternity care. With respect to State Medicaid programs that utilize telehealth that increases access to maternity care, information about— common characteristics of such programs' approaches to utilizing telehealth that increases access to maternity care; differences in States’ approaches to utilizing telehealth to improve access to maternity care, and the resulting differences in State maternal health outcomes, as determined by factors described in subsection (C); and when compared to patients who receive maternity care in-person, what is known about— the demographic characteristics, such as race, ethnicity, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability status, age, and preferred language of the individuals enrolled in such programs who use telehealth to access maternity care; health outcomes for such individuals, including frequency of mortality and severe morbidity, as compared to individuals with similar characteristics who did not use telehealth to access maternity care; the services provided to individuals through telehealth, including family planning services, mental health care services, and oral health services; the devices and equipment provided to individuals for remote patient monitoring and telehealth, including blood pressure monitors and blood glucose monitors; the quality of maternity care provided through telehealth, including whether maternity care provided through telehealth is culturally and linguistically appropriate; the level of patient satisfaction with an experience of maternity care provided through telehealth to individuals enrolled in State Medicaid programs; the impact of utilizing telehealth to increase access to maternity care on spending, cost savings, access to care, and utilization of care under State Medicaid programs; and the accessibility and effectiveness of telehealth for maternity care during the COVID–19 pandemic.
An identification and analysis of the barriers to using telehealth to increase access to maternity care under State Medicaid programs. Recommendations for such legislative and administrative actions related to increasing access to telehealth maternity services under Medicaid as the Comptroller General deems appropriate.