After another
short-term extension of Medicare telehealth flexibilities through January 30, 2026, national provider organizations and industry groups are again intensifying their push for Congress to make key telehealth waivers permanent. The latest extension—passed as part of a
continuing resolution (CR) to reopen the federal government—once again highlights the importance of telehealth across the Medicare program and the ongoing uncertainty providers and patients face if temporary policies are allowed to expire, even if applied retroactively, or are repeatedly renewed at the last minute.
In November, Congress passed a continuing resolution (
HR 5371) that funded the government through January 30, 2026. Included in the CR was a short-term extension of several Medicare telehealth waivers that had expired on September 30, 2025 with the federal government shutdown. The extension was applied retroactively to eliminate any gap in coverage and remains in effect through January 30, 2026. The extended telehealth waivers include:
- Waiving location requirements (geographic and originating site restrictions)
- Expanded list of eligible telehealth providers
- Allowing federally qualified health centers (FQHCs) and rural health clinics (RHCs) to serve as eligible telehealth providers
- Delaying in-person visit requirements for mental health services when permanent telehealth requirements are not met
- Delaying in-person visit requirements for mental health services provided via telecommunications technology for FQHCs and RHCs
- Allowing the use of audio-only telehealth services
- Permitting telehealth to satisfy face-to-face encounter requirements for hospice recertification
- Extending the Acute Hospital Care at Home Initiative
This most recent extension continues a pattern that has played out repeatedly since the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE) ended. Medicare telehealth waivers have been extended multiple times through short-term legislative vehicles, often just ahead of scheduled expiration dates—or, in the case of the September 30, 2025 lapse, after the expiration had already occurred. The lapse in October–November 2025 caused significant confusion across the provider community. Some providers paused telehealth services entirely due to uncertainty about coverage, while others continued delivering care without clarity on whether services would be reimbursed. Stakeholders reported interruptions in patient care, administrative challenges, and increased compliance risk, particularly for safety-net providers and those serving rural or underserved populations. These disruptions have renewed calls from provider groups and industry stakeholders for a permanent policy solution rather than continued reliance on uncertain temporary extensions.
Against this backdrop, the
American Medical Association (AMA) recently published an
issue brief urging Congress to permanently adopt many of the Medicare telehealth flexibilities introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the AMA’s issue brief, telehealth utilization surged during the pandemic, with more than 28 million Medicare beneficiaries accessing virtual care services. The organization points to research indicating that telehealth visits are 9.2 percentage points more likely to be completed than in-person appointments, suggesting improved access and reduced barriers to care. The AMA also highlights evidence showing that telehealth does not drive increased overall utilization of healthcare services, even as telehealth became widely available during the pandemic. Multiple studies—including
research from the University of Michigan—have found that telehealth can lower costs, with one study showing $82 lower Medicare spending per patient following a telehealth visit compared to in-person care.
In the issue brief, the AMA outlines several legislative actions it supports, drawing on federal telehealth legislation introduced during the 2025 congressional session, including:
- Creating Opportunities Now for Necessary and Effective Care Technologies (CONNECT) for Health Act of 2025 (H.R. 4206 / S. 1261) which would permanently remove geographic and originating site restrictions, removes the in-person requirement on tele-mental services and permanently allows HHS to determine which health care providers may provide telehealth services.
- Hospital Inpatient Services Modernization Act (H.R. 4313 / S. 2237) which would allow Medicare beneficiaries to continue to receive Acute Hospital Care at Home (AHCaH) services by extending waiver authority through 2030.
- Promoting Responsible and Effective Virtual Experiences through Novel Technology to Deliver Improved Access and Better Engagement with Tested and Evidence-based Strategies (PREVENT DIABETES) Act (H.R. 1523) which would allow health care entities to provide virtual services under the Medicare Diabetes Prevention Program for an additional three years.
- Connected Maternal Online Monitoring (MOM) Act (S. 141) which would require the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to submit a report to Congress identifying barriers to Medicaid coverage of remote physiologic monitoring devices (e.g., pulse oximeters, blood pressure cuffs, scales, and blood glucose monitors). The bill would also direct CMS to update state resources, including Medicaid telehealth toolkits, to align with evidence-based recommendations aimed at improving maternal and child health outcomes and reducing maternal mortality and morbidity among pregnant and postpartum individuals.
In addition to the AMA, the
American Telemedicine Association (ATA) is advocating for permanent Medicare telehealth reforms through its advocacy arm,
ATA Action. According to a recent
Forbes article, ATA Action’s membership includes major healthcare and technology companies such as
Amazon,
Hims & Hers,
LifePoint Health,
Teladoc Health, and
Circle Medical.
Similar to the AMA, ATA Action is calling on Congress to:
- Make Medicare telehealth flexibilities permanent and remove what it characterizes as arbitrary restrictions
- Repeal the in-person requirement for telemental health services under Medicare
- Encourage broader use of telehealth within high-deductible health plans and ERISA-regulated plans
- Guarantee telehealth coverage across federal healthcare programs, including federally qualified health centers (FQHCs), rural health clinics (RHCs), Indian Health Service (IHS), TRICARE, and the Veterans Health Administration (VHA).
ATA Action has emphasized that continued uncertainty around telehealth coverage undermines long-term investment, workforce planning, and care delivery innovation.
While multiple federal telehealth bills have been introduced to address the expiration of the temporary Medicare telehealth waivers—most of which were drafted in response to the October 2025 expiration date—none appear to have gained sufficient momentum to ensure passage before the January 30, 2026 deadline. As a result, stakeholders remain uncertain whether Congress will enact permanent reforms, approve another short-term extension, or allow telehealth waivers to lapse again when the current CR expires. As advocacy efforts intensify, the coming month may prove critical in determining whether Medicare telehealth flexibilities finally move from temporary waivers to permanent law.
For a complete list of federal telehealth bills currently being tracked, visit CCHP’s
Federal Pending Legislation page.