Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
The bill creates a grant program in the Public Health Service Act to expand home-based telemental health and substance use services for rural Health Professional Shortage Areas and people in farming, fishing, and forestry occupations. Grants go to public or nonprofit telemental health provider networks to deliver services, build infrastructure, supply devices, expand broadband access, and develop quality metrics.
Disagreement on sufficiency of $10M/year funding
Relative to its intended legislative type, this bill effectively establishes a focused grant program within the Public Health Service Act, with clear purpose, defined eligible populations and entities, permitted uses of funds, reporting requirements, and an explicit funding authorization; however, it leaves numerous implementation details and safeguards to agency rulemaking or later guidance.
The bill creates a grant program in the Public Health Service Act to expand home-based telemental health and substance use services for rural Health Professional Shortage Areas and people in farming, fishing, and forestry occupations.
Grants go to public or nonprofit telemental health provider networks to deliver services, build infrastructure, supply devices, expand broadband access, and develop quality metrics.
The Secretary, consulting the USDA Rural Health Liaison, must report on impact after three years and every two years thereafter.
Content is narrow and broadly appealing with small fiscal footprint, but passage depends on appropriation action and competing legislative priorities.
Relative to its intended legislative type, this bill effectively establishes a focused grant program within the Public Health Service Act, with clear purpose, defined eligible populations and entities, permitted uses of funds, reporting requirements, and an explicit funding authorization; however, it leaves numerous implementation details and safeguards to agency rulemaking or later guidance.
Disagreement on sufficiency of $10M/year funding
These are examples from the analysis, not a ranked list of the most-affected groups.
Disagreement on sufficiency of $10M/year funding
Likely strongly supportive because the bill directly expands behavioral health access for underserved rural populations and includes infrastructure supports.
Praises device and broadband funding and mandated quality metrics, while noting funding appears modest.
Generally favorable but pragmatic; views program as a targeted pilot to expand access while seeking clear evaluation, cost controls, and avoidance of overlap with existing programs.
Wants measurable outcomes and state coordination.
Mixed to somewhat skeptical: supports improving rural access but wary of expanding federal grant programs and funding broadband/devices.
Prefers private, state-led solutions and tight accountability for federal spending.
Reached or meaningfully advanced
Reached or meaningfully advanced
Still ahead
Still ahead
Still ahead
Content is narrow and broadly appealing with small fiscal footprint, but passage depends on appropriation action and competing legislative priorities.
The bill has not accumulated any surfaced votes yet.
Disagreement on sufficiency of $10M/year funding
Content is narrow and broadly appealing with small fiscal footprint, but passage depends on appropriation action and competing legislative…
Relative to its intended legislative type, this bill effectively establishes a focused grant program within the Public Health Service Act, with clear purpose, defined eligible populations and entities, permitted uses of…
Go beyond the headline summary with full stakeholder mapping, legislative design analysis, passage barriers, and lens-by-lens tradeoff breakdowns.