Findings

Congress finds the following: (1) Remote physiologic monitoring (referred to in this section as RPM) supports highly coordinated care, improves patient outcomes, and can lower costs to the Medicare program. (2) Three out of five federally designated health professional shortage areas are in rural regions, and rural residents generally must travel farther than urban counterparts to access health care services. (3) Medicare reimbursement for RPM is lowest in States where the prevalence of heart failure, hypertension, and diabetes are well above the national average. (4) The practice expenses and malpractice expenses incurred in the delivery of RPM are not lower in rural areas and do not widely vary by State.