Telehealth Coverage (Medicare)
Current understanding
Federal policy on Medicare coverage of telehealth services, including audio-only and at-home modalities, and targeted extensions for underserved populations. Many pandemic-era flexibilities have relied on temporary extensions, with legislative activity aimed at making specific coverage permanent. Current activity is early-stage (introduced bills) rather than enacted policy.
Evidence log
- 2025-04-28 — Expanding Remote Monitoring Access Act: cross-connection with medicare: Both address extending or restoring COVID-era Medicare flexibilities — telehealth waivers and RPM data-collection thresholds — for remote care delivery. (novelty: 3)
- 2026-08-31 — Promoting Telehealth in Rural America: cross-connection with rural-health-care-program: FCC subsidies for rural provider broadband underpin the connectivity that Medicare telehealth flexibilities depend on in rural areas. (novelty: 3)
- 2025-04-02 — EASE Act: cross-connection with ease-act-rural-specialty-care: The EASE Act’s rural specialty telehealth demonstration would operate alongside broader Medicare telehealth coverage rules, testing a nonprofit-network delivery model within that framework. (novelty: 3)
- 2025-04-01 — EASE Act of 2025: cross-connection with critical-access-hospitals: EASE Act would use CAHs (alongside FQHCs, RHCs, and REHs) as delivery sites for a CMMI telehealth specialty-care model, linking rural facility policy to Medicare telehealth coverage design. (novelty: 3)
- 2025-06-26 — CONNECT for Health Act of 2025: 2025 — CONNECT for Health Act of 2025 (HR4206, introduced): bipartisan reintroduction that would permanently expand Medicare telehealth coverage by eliminating geographic and originating-site restrictions and broadening eligible practitioners and services. (novelty: 3)
- 2025-09-02 — Telehealth Modernization Act: cross-connection with telehealth-modernization-act: HR5081 would amend Medicare telehealth coverage provisions tracked on the general Telehealth Coverage (Medicare) page. (novelty: 2)
- 2026-06-24 — To prohibit a REMS-certified provider from prescribing mifepristone without an in-person visit and a medical license in the State in which the patient resides, and for other purposes.: cross-connection with mifepristone-rems-prescribing-requirements: HR9421’s in-person visit requirement for mifepristone would carve mifepristone out of the broader telehealth prescribing framework. (novelty: 2)
- 2026-03-19 — Healthy Moms and Babies Act: cross-connection with healthy-moms-and-babies-act: Healthy Moms and Babies Act’s Medicaid maternal telehealth demonstration parallels ongoing Medicare telehealth coverage expansions, extending remote care policy into perinatal Medicaid populations. (novelty: 3)