Bill · S. 1535· Senate(119-S-1535)
Rural Patient Monitoring (RPM) Access Act
- Introduced
- 4/30/2025
- Last activity
- 4/30/2025 — Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
- Sponsored by
- Marsha Blackburn
- Cosponsors
- - 0 - 1
- Introduced
- In Committee
What this bill would do
The Rural Patient Monitoring (RPM) Access Act aims to ensure high-quality remote physiologic monitoring for Medicare beneficiaries. It establishes a floor of 1.00 for practice expense and malpractice geographic indices for these services starting January 1, 2026. The bill requires providers to be able to respond to data anomalies and transmit vitals and notes to electronic health records. It also mandates the collection of data to evaluate Medicare cost savings. Small medical practices may receive exceptions to these requirements. Finally, the Secretary of Health and Human Services must report on Medicare savings and practice expenses within two years.
Yes· 3 of 14
Would people in rural areas be better off under this?+9
Explicitly designed to address healthcare shortages and distance barriers in rural regions.
Would people over 65 be better off under this?+8
Directly benefits Medicare beneficiaries through improved monitoring and coordinated care.
Would retired people be better off under this?+8
Targets Medicare beneficiaries, who are primarily retirees.
The opposite
No question was scored the opposite.
Who it would affect, and how
Potential Positive Impacts for People
-
Improved Care Coordination and Outcomes: According to Section 2, RPM supports highly coordinated care and improves patient outcomes.
-
Lower Medicare Costs: Section 2 states that RPM can lower costs to the Medicare program.
-
Increased Accessibility in Rural Areas: Section 2 notes that rural residents often travel farther for care and that three out of five health professional shortage areas are in rural regions, suggesting the focus on RPM helps these populations.
-
Higher Reimbursement Standards: Section 3 ensures that practice expense and malpractice geographic indices are increased to 1.00 if they would otherwise be lower, which addresses the finding in Section 2 that reimbursement is currently lowest in States with high rates of heart failure, hypertension, and diabetes.
-
Quality Assurance for Patients: Section 4(a)(1) requires providers to be capable of responding to data anomalies through clinical support and transmitting vitals and notes to electronic health records for effective care management.
Potential Negative Impacts for People
- Reporting Burdens on Providers: Section 4(a)(1)(C) requires providers to collect and report data to the Secretary to evaluate cost savings, which may create additional administrative work.
Groups and Interests Ranking
Every group the model scored this bill for, from -10 to +10. Hover a score for the reason it gave.
- Demographic And Interest Groups
- Good For Rural Residents+9Good For Retirees+8Good For Seniors+8Good For Business Owners+4Good For People With Disabilities+4Good For Farmers+3Good For Low Income Households+3
- Healthcare
- Improves Healthcare Access+7Reduces Hospital Costs+5Increases Medicare Funding+4
- Environment Energy And Infrastructure
- Improves Rural Development+4
- Economy And Finance
- Improves Small Business Support+3
- Education And Technology
- Improves Internet Access+2
- Governance And Ideology
- Increases Federal Power+2
- 4/30/2025
- Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
- 1 Cosponsor added.
- Introduced in Senate
Mark WarnerDemocrat · Virginia