VA Mission Telehealth Clarification Act
Latest action. Received in the Senate. Read twice. Placed on Senate legislative calendarThe list of measures reported out of committee and eligible for floor action. Being on the calendar is not a promise of a vote.Read the full definition (opens a new tab) under General Orders. Calendar No. 553.
VA Mission Telehealth Clarification Act
This bill authorizes health professions trainees of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to provide treatment to veterans via telemedicine. To provide such treatment, a trainee must be under the supervision of a VA health care professional who is authorized to provide health care via telemedicine. In order to provide treatment via telemedicine or supervision of telemedicine, a health care professional must have specified qualifications for their position or other authorization from the VA.
The bill also authorizes health care professional appointees of the Veterans Health Administration who are in the process of obtaining a license, qualification, or other authorization to provide treatment via telemedicine so long as they are under the supervision of a health care professional who is authorized to provide treatment via telemedicine.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Passed House" stage on September 22, 2020. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on September 23, 2020: Received in the Senate. Read twice. Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 553.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the House
- Passage by the Senate
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 116th Congress (2019-20), 344 of the 14,345 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 2.4 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
Earl Carter (R-GA) introduced it on June 12, 2019, and 13 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They come from both major parties: 5 Democrats, 8 Republicans.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on June 12, 2019, 2647 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 2178 days ago, on September 23, 2020.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 116th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2021 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseIn committee, no floor vote yet
- SenateAwaits House passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers