House Committee Advances Standalone Telehealth Benefit Bill

The House Education and Workforce Committee passed an HR Policy-supported bill that will permanently enable employers to offer standalone telehealth benefits to employees who do not qualify for full health benefits.

The Telehealth Benefit Expansion for Workers Act (H.R. 824) would allow employers to permanently offer telehealth benefits as a standalone excepted benefit to part-time and seasonal employees who do not qualify for full health benefits.

Three ACA protections would apply to the standalone telehealth benefit. As amended in the committee to secure bipartisan passage, there can be no preexisting condition exclusions for the benefit and the benefit cannot be rescinded except in cases of fraud. Employers also cannot discriminate offering the benefit based on health status.

Outlook: The bill will most likely be packaged with other health care reform bills, like the Ways and Means passed Telehealth Expansion Act, that have passed out of various House committees over the past two months and could be brought before the full House before the August recess or early this fall.