Publication
Medicare Telehealth Flexibilities Extended . . . Again
With congressional and presidential approval of a continuing resolution which funds the government until September 30, 2025, expiring Medicare telehealth flexibilities have been extended for another six months.
As noted in our December 18, 2024, article, the COVID-19 pandemic fundamentally altered the way healthcare services can be and are delivered, particularly to those in rural and underserved communities. For those telehealth flexibilities that were not made permanent since the official end of the pandemic in May 2023, there has been concern among providers, healthcare industry groups, and patients as to whether certain Medicare waivers would permanently expire.
Section 2207 of the continuing resolution is almost identical to Section 3207 of the American Relief Act of 2025 (passed in December 2024), which extended telehealth flexibilities through March 2025.
Section 2207 not only extends these flexibilities until September 30th, but also does the following:
- Removes geographic requirements and expands originating sites for telehealth services (including patients’ homes);
- Expands the list of practitioners who are eligible to provide telehealth services, (including all practitioners who are eligible to bill Medicare for covered services, such as physical and occupational therapists, speech pathologists, audiologists, marriage and family therapists, and mental health services);
- Extends telehealth services to federally qualified health centers (FQHCs) and rural health clinics, who may serve as distant site providers;
- Delays the Medicare in-person requirements for mental health services furnished through telehealth and telecommunications technologies, including for FQHCs and rural health clinics;
- Allows for the payment/furnishing of audio-only telehealth services;
- Extends the use of telehealth to conduct face-to-face encounters prior to recertification of eligibility for hospice care; and
- Grants program instruction authority, which allows the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to implement amendments made by Section 2207 through program instruction or other means.
HHS’ most recent guidance states that telehealth services can still be provided by all participating Medicare providers through September 30, 2025. Until then, providers should be aware of the following:
- There are no geographic restrictions for originating sites for Medicare telehealth services, and Medicare beneficiaries can receive these services in their homes.
- An in-person visit within six months of an initial Medicare behavioral/mental telehealth encounter, and annually thereafter, is not required.
- FQHCs and rural health clinics can serve as Medicare distant site providers for non-behavioral/mental telehealth services.
- Telehealth services in Medicare can be delivered using audio-only communication.
Healthcare industry and provider groups celebrated the extension, though many have also reiterated that a long-term solution is needed so that patients do not lose telehealth access to care on October 1, 2025.
While Medicare-enrolled providers can breathe a sigh of relief for another six months, it is not too soon to consider the impact that the expiration of these waivers may have on their practice and patients. As the September 30, 2025, deadline approaches, providers and healthcare entities may want to consider discussing compliance strategies with legal counsel.
Snell & Wilmer’s healthcare services team continues to monitor developments with respect to telehealth regulatory changes.
**Any opinions expressed are the authors, and not necessarily those of the firm or their colleagues.
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