CMS to test rural telehealth specialty care pilot for Medicare, Medicaid patients

What it does

This bill directs the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to test a new model delivering specialty healthcare services to Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries in rural and underserved areas using telehealth and remote technologies. The model will partner with networks of at least 50 rural health centers, clinics, and hospitals (at least half in rural areas) to coordinate specialty care with primary care providers, aiming to improve access for patients who currently face geographic or transportation barriers.

Why we flagged it

The bill's core mechanism is a CMS innovation model test designed to expand specialty care access in underserved areas via telehealth. It is a public-health pilot, not a market intervention or deregulation.

What the text implies

• The bill requires networks to be nonprofit entities under IRC 501(c)(3), which may limit participation by for-profit telehealth platforms and specialty care networks, potentially constraining the model's scale or innovation pathways.
• Data collection and exchange requirements (paragraph 2(d)) create infrastructure for future CMS program design but may impose compliance costs on rural providers already operating with thin margins.
• The model's success depends on appropriations and is subject to Public Law 117–328 requirements for HRSA-funded programs, creating potential funding uncertainty and regulatory overlap that could delay or limit the pilot's scope.

Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.

Who it affects

The bill expands access to specialty care for rural and underserved Medicare/Medicaid beneficiaries through a pilot program using telehealth, removing geographic barriers to treatment. The model is structured as a test with data-collection requirements and nonprofit-network participation, reducing risk of private capture and supporting public health outcomes.

Who stands to gain

• Rural health centers and critical access hospitals (service delivery contracts)
• Federally qualified health centers (FQHC) in rural areas (service delivery contracts)
• Nonprofit healthcare networks meeting selection criteria (model administration)

Named in the bill

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI), Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs), Rural health clinics, Critical access hospitals, Rural emergency hospitals, Medicare Part A and Part B beneficiaries, Medicaid beneficiaries, Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), Internal Revenue Code Section 501(c)(3)

Where it stands

2 cosponsors: 1 Democrats, 1 Republicans.

• Apr 2, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in Senate”
• Apr 2, 2025 — Referred to Senate Committee on Finance · Congress.gov: “Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance”

Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.

Money around this bill

2 lobbying clients named this bill on 2 disclosure filings across 2 quarters, Mar 2026 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $220,000 in lobbying spend. A filing names 14 bills on average, so that figure is what each filing reported, not a share belonging to this bill.

More lobbying clients named this bill than 41% of bills with at least one filing.

Markwayne Mullin, the sponsor, reported $979,756 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.

• Alliance for Connected Care — $200,000 on 1 filing
• Association of Art Museum Directors — $20,000 on 1 filing

Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jul 20, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.