Women’s Protection in Telehealth Act

This legislative proposal seeks to amend Title XI of the Social Security Act, effectively altering participation rules for the Medicare program. Its primary objective is to exclude providers of certain abortion services from receiving Medicare reimbursement. The bill specifically targets any individual or entity that prescribes, administers, dispenses, or furnishes an "abortion-inducing drug" to a patient. Such providers would be permanently excluded from Medicare unless they meet stringent conditions. These conditions require the provider to be a physician, physically examine the patient, be physically present in the same room when the patient takes the drug, and schedule an in-person follow-up visit within 14 days. An "abortion-inducing drug" is defined as any substance intended to terminate a clinically diagnosable pregnancy with knowledge that it will likely cause the death of the unborn child. The exclusion for non-compliance with these requirements would be permanent, significantly impacting providers who offer abortion-inducing drugs via telehealth or without direct, in-person supervision.