The short-term spending bill President Donald Trump signed into law last month included the extension of several telehealth waivers by entering a new termination date of Sept. 30 into the existing law. These waivers, called “flexibilities” by Congress, were first created in response to the COVID-19 public health emergency to allow Medicare beneficiaries to receive care by telehealth, mitigating the risk of the virus spreading. These flexibilities have been temporarily extended since the end of the federal emergency in 2023. Absent these changes, Medicare generally would not pay for medical treatment received via telehealth except in very limited circumstances.
The key “flexibilities,” extended via Section 2207 of the bill, include:
- Geographic Flexibility. Telehealth services can continue to take place from a wide range of locations, subject to any state law requirements, that generally meet the patients where they are located.
- Broadened Provider Eligibility. Physical therapists, occupational therapists, speech-language pathologists and audiologists can continue to provide care via telehealth and receive payment from Medicare.
- Delay of In-Person Requirements for Mental Health Care. Medicare will pay for mental health services furnished on or after April 1, regardless of whether the practitioner has furnished the service in person within the six months prior to the telehealth service.
- Audio-Only Services. Medicare will continue to reimburse for audio-only telehealth services.
Unless Congress intervenes by Oct. 1, the pre-COVID statutory limitations on Medicare telehealth services will be reinstated. Those pre-COVID-19 rules only permitted Medicare coverage of telehealth services in specific situations – for example, if a patient was in a health-professional-shortage area or a county outside of a metropolitan statistical area and only under the more stringent synchronous (audio and video) telehealth standard.
Until lawmakers permanently extend the flexibilities listed above, uncertainty will remain regarding their long-term future of these flexibilities. The Miles and Stockbridge Health Care group will continue to monitor developments in Congress related to telehealth.
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