Amendment #958 to H4000

Digital Bridge Equity Programs

Mr. Rogers of Cambridge moves to amend the bill by inserting the following two new sections:-

SECTION XX. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the health policy commission shall establish a Digital Bridge Pilot Program to support telehealth services and devices and to provide funding for healthcare and human service providers and their patients and clients to support the purchase of telecommunications, information services and connected devices necessary to provide telehealth services to patients and clients. Communities that have had the highest prevalence of and been disproportionately affected by COVID-19 shall be prioritized for funding under this program in addition to communities that experience barriers in accessing telehealth services due to language constraints, socioeconomic constraints or other accessibility issues. Eligible programs may include but not be limited to public private partnerships with telecommunication providers, municipalities, healthcare providers and other organizations.

Eligible services may include, but not be limited to: telecommunications services; broadband and internet connectivity services including the purchase of broadband subscriptions and the establishment of wireless hotspots, so-called; voice services; remote patient monitoring platforms and services; patient reported outcome platforms; store and forward services, including the asynchronous transfer of patient images and data for interpretation by a physician; platforms and services to provide synchronous video consultation; tablets, smartphones, or connected devices to receive connected care services at home for patient or provider use; and telemedicine kiosks / carts for provider sites. Funding shall not be used for unconnected devices that patients utilize in the home and then manually report their results to providers.

SECTION XXX. (a) Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the health policy commission shall establish a Digital Health Navigator Tech Literacy Pilot Program, herein referred to as the program, to complement and work in conjunction with the Digital Bridge Pilot Program. The program shall establish telehealth digital health navigators including community health workers, medical assistants and other healthcare professionals to assist patients with accessing telehealth services. The program and its funding shall prioritize populations who experience increased barriers in accessing healthcare and telehealth services, including those disproportionately affected by COVID-19, the elderly and those who may need assistance with telehealth services due to limited English proficiency or limited literacy with digital health tools. Entities receiving funding through this program will provide culturally and linguistically competent hands-on support to educate patients on how to access broadband and wireless services and subsequently utilize devices and online platforms to access telehealth services.

(b) The health policy commission shall publish a report, one year following the implementation of said Digital Bridge Health Navigator Tech Literacy Pilot Program, which shall include but not be limited to the following: (i) an identification of the program’s telehealth navigators disaggregated by healthcare profession; (ii) the resources required to provide literacy with digital health tools, including, but not limited to, the cost of operating said pilot program and additional workforce training for the program’s telehealth navigators; (iii) an identification of the populations served by the program disaggregated by demographics including, but not limited to, race, ethnicity, age, gender identity and primary language spoken; (iv) an identification of the regions served by the program across the commonwealth; and (v) an evaluation of the efficacy of the program in increasing the utilization of telehealth services disaggregated by patient demographics and including, but not limited to, the rate of attendance at telehealth visits.

and further moves to amend the bill by inserting the following two new line items:-

XXXX-XXXX For the Digital Bridge Pilot Program established in Section XX…………………………………$250,000

XXXX-XXXX For the Digital Health Navigator Tech Literacy Pilot Program established in Section XXX…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….$250,000

Additional co-sponsor(s) added to Amendment #958 to H4000

Digital Bridge Equity Programs