A continuing resolution passed by Congress and signed by President Trump in mid-March to avoid a government shutdown also extended telehealth benefits for Medicare beneficiaries for six months, all of which were set to expire today. This action bought another few months for these benefits, which previously were set to expire at the end of 2024 but were extended for three months as part of a prior continuing resolution signed on Dec. 21.
Journalists should know that in the current Congressional climate, health care legislation like this is subject to an “endless merry-go-round of short-term extensions,” said Kyle Zebley, senior vice president of public policy for the American Telemedicine Association and executive director of ATA Action, an affiliated advocacy group, during a March 7 AHCJ webinar. “It’s how Congress and the federal government now operate. Very rarely do they pass permanent bills into law.” Instead, he said, Congressional leaders and their staffers stitch together bills including various legislation pieces about to expire, and submit those for approval.
What’s in the legislation now
Historically, because of a law dating back to 1997, Medicare beneficiaries could only access telehealth and virtual care services if they met two criteria, Zebley said: They had to be in a rural area and had to receive those services inside a Medicare provider’s office. In response to the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the first Trump Administration put in several policies designed to be temporary, to keep people in their homes and out of health care settings when possible to stop the spread of the virus. These policies allowed all Medicare Part B beneficiaries access to reimbursable telehealth coverage regardless of their physical location.
Section 2207 of the CR related to telehealth flexibilities that will now expire on Sept. 30 includes these six provisions, according to the National Law Review:
- It removes geographic requirements and expands originating sites for telehealth services, including patients’ homes.
- It expands the list of practitioners eligible to provide telehealth services to those eligible to bill Medicare for covered services including, physical and occupational therapists, speech pathologists, audiologists, marriage and family therapists and mental health service providers.
- It extends telehealth services to federally qualified health centers and rural health clinics that may serve as distant site providers.
- It delays Medicare’s in-person requirements for mental health services furnished through telehealth and telecommunications technology, including for federally qualified health centers and rural health clinics.
- It allows for the payment and provision of audio-only telehealth services.
- It extends the use of telehealth to conduct face-to-face encounters before recertification of eligibility for hospice care.
The Acute Hospital Care at Home Program was also extended through September, allowing Medicare-certified hospitals to furnish inpatient-level care in patients’ homes, according to the American Telemedicine Association.
What has already expired
The ATA noted that other provisions that were covered had already expired. It’s unclear if the following will be reinstated:
- The Medicare Diabetes Prevention Program had been expanded to include a variety of telehealth and virtual care components. That was allowed to lapse in 2023 with the end of the COVID-19 public health emergency and hasn’t been brought back, Zebley said.
- First-dollar coverage for high deductible health plan-health savings accounts, meaning a policy covers expenses without requiring a deductible or copayment.
- The provision of in-home cardiopulmonary services.
Remote prescribing of controlled substances
Meanwhile, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and the Department of Health and Human Services delayed the effective date of two final rules related to remote prescribing of controlled substances from March 21 to Dec. 31, Healthcare IT News reported. Remote prescribing can occur through the end of the year.
The Expansion of Buprenorphine Treatment via Telemedicine Encounter rule would allow patients to receive a six-month supply of buprenorphine, a medication used to treat opioid use disorder, through a telephone consultation with a provider. Further prescriptions would require an in-person visit to a medical provider.
The Continuity of Care via Telemedicine for Veterans Affairs Patients would allow VA practitioners to prescribe schedule II-IV controlled substances via telemedicine to a VA patient without needing an in-person medical evaluation, provided that another VA practitioner has conducted an in-person exam.
What’s the future of telehealth?
The good news, Zebley said, is that telehealth has had bipartisan support in Congress, as it is effective for and liked by Americans in rural and other locations. Telehealth services also help to make up for a shortage of health care providers in certain specialties or geographical areas.
Journalists and other members of the public can reach out to local legislators independently to push for an extension of or permanent continuance of these flexibilities or through some online forms. Emails and calls to legislator offices “really matter,” Zebley said. “They’re presented on a daily or weekly basis to the members of Congress, and usually the rule of thumb is that one individual calling and emailing [equals] at least 10 constituents that didn’t take the time to do so.”
Resources
- Telehealth on the line: What could happen this spring? — an AHCJ webinar from March 2025.
- Congress grants 6-month reprieve for Medicare telehealth, but questions persist — an article from Healthcare IT News.
- Telehealth Policy Update: What the March 2025 Continuing Resolution Means for Clinicians — Telehealth.org.
- Telehealth Cliff Averted, for Now (But September is Six Months Away) — National Law Review.
- No shutdown for telehealth as Congress passes spending bill to keep the government open — a news release from the American Telemedicine Association.
