This bill would amend ERISA, the federal law governing many employer-sponsored health plans, to stop health care providers and facilities from charging certain facility fees for telehealth visits. The main effect would be to protect patients from extra charges that can appear on top of a regular copay or deductible when a video or phone appointment is billed like an in-person hospital or clinic visit. It would primarily affect people covered by ERISA health plans who use telehealth, along with hospitals, health systems, and other providers that currently add those fees. The bill focuses on the billing practice itself rather than changing whether telehealth is covered.
What This Bill Does
- Amends ERISA, the federal law covering many employer health plans.
- Bars certain facility fees for telehealth visits.
- Targets fees charged by health care providers and facilities, not the telehealth service itself.
- Applies to patients in ERISA-covered health plans, especially employer-sponsored coverage.
Who This Bill Affects
If you use telehealth through an employer-sponsored health plan, this bill could reduce or eliminate extra facility fees that can be added to a virtual visit bill. That would make online appointments more predictable and could lower what you pay out of pocket, especially if your plan has a copay or deductible that already applies to the visit. Hospitals and health systems that currently rely on those fees would be the main entities affected on the provider side.
See how this bill affects you — sign in for a personalized analysisWho Supports & Opposes This
- Patients using telehealth They would likely welcome lower and more predictable bills. A telehealth visit should not carry the same facility surcharge as an in-person hospital encounter when no physical facility services are being used.
- Employers and benefits administrators Removing facility fees can reduce surprise claims and make telehealth a more cost-effective benefit. That can help employers keep virtual care affordable for workers and dependents.
- Consumer and patient advocates They argue facility fees are often hard for patients to anticipate and can undermine the promise of telehealth. Prohibiting them would improve price transparency and protect families from avoidable charges.
- Hospitals and health systems They may argue facility fees help cover overhead, clinical coordination, cybersecurity, scheduling, and platform costs tied to delivering telehealth at scale. Losing those fees could reduce revenue, especially for systems that use telehealth as part of integrated care.
- Provider organizations Some may contend that a blanket ban is too rigid because telehealth delivery still creates administrative and operational costs. They may prefer payment rules that distinguish between low-cost virtual follow-ups and more complex remote specialty care.
- Self-insured plan sponsors focused on flexibility They may worry that restricting billing practices in federal law could limit how plans and providers negotiate payment arrangements. Even if patients save money, employers could face shifts in premiums or provider contracting pressure.
Key Implications
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““prohibit health care providers and facilities from imposing certain facility fees for telehealth””
This is the core consumer protection in the bill. It would stop some providers from adding extra facility charges to virtual appointments, which could reduce surprise bills for patients.
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““amend the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974””
The rule would operate through ERISA, so it would affect many employer-sponsored health plans rather than every kind of coverage in the country. That makes the bill especially relevant to workers and families with job-based insurance.
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““facility fees for telehealth””
The bill targets a specific billing practice tied to virtual care. It does not change whether telehealth exists; it changes whether an added facility charge can be attached to it.
Official Source & Bill Facts
BillBoard checks this page against public Congress.gov metadata, then adds plain-English analysis where available.
- Bill
- HR 9431
- Congress
- 119th Congress
- 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.
- Policy area
- Healthcare
- Latest action
- Referred to the House Committee on Education and Workforce. (June 24, 2026)
- Last updated
- June 25, 2026
Latest Status
June 24, 2026
Referred to the House Committee on Education and Workforce.
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Ask AI about this billData sourced from api.congress.gov.