Sponsor
Jahana Hayes
Representative · D-CT
Representative · D-CT
The bill reduces out-of-pocket telehealth facility fees and strengthens enforcement and public input on implementation, but it raises compliance and enforcement costs, risks provider cost-shifting that could blunt patient savings, and may slow implementation through formal rulemaking.
Patients (including those with chronic conditions, uninsured people, and Medicaid beneficiaries) will no longer be charged prohibited facility fees for telehealth visits starting Jan 1, 2028, lowering their out-of-pocket costs for virtual care.
ERISA-covered plan administrators and plan sponsors gain clearer protections against improper telehealth facility fee billing, which should reduce improper plan expenditures and improve plan cost management.
The bill creates an enforcement mechanism allowing the Secretary to assess penalties (up to $10,000 per violation), which can deter unlawful facility fee practices and help enforce the prohibition.
Providers and facilities risk shifting lost telehealth facility fee revenue to other services or raising overall prices, which could offset patient savings and increase healthcare costs more broadly.
Health care providers and facilities face potential fines up to $10,000 per violation, increasing financial risk, compliance costs, and incentives to contest enforcement actions.
Stronger enforcement and formal rulemaking will increase administrative burden and costs for federal agencies (e.g., DOL), plan sponsors, and possibly state governments during investigations, rule development, and compliance reviews; this may slow other agency work or require additional funding.
Based on analysis of 3 sections of legislative text.
Prohibits certain facility fees for telehealth under ERISA plans and authorizes DOL to impose up to $10,000 per violation; DOL must adopt rules.
Official title: To amend the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 to prohibit health care providers and facilities from imposing certain facility fees for telehealth.
Introduced June 24, 2026 by Jahana Hayes · Last progress June 24, 2026
Prohibits certain "facility fees" or facility-related charges for telehealth services furnished on or after January 1, 2028, by adding a new ERISA rule that bars those fees for plans governed by ERISA. It gives the Department of Labor enforcement authority to assess civil monetary penalties of up to $10,000 per violation against providers or facilities found to violate the prohibition and requires the Secretary of Labor to implement the change through formal rulemaking.