PHI’s Mei Kwong Shares Insights on the Impact of Expiring Telehealth Policies

“Before the pandemic, it was extremely difficult for Medicare patients to qualify to get telehealth care. They had to live in a rural area classified a certain way, and they had to receive their telehealth services in a certain type of location—often a medical office. Congress passed waivers to those rules in the beginning of the pandemic, which are often referred to now as Medicare telehealth flexibilities.

Usage of telehealth through Medicare has declined since 2020, to about 25% of patients in 2024, according to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. But telehealth is still a lifeline for certain patients, including those who are immunocompromised or who live a long distance from their doctors’ office, says Mei Kwong, executive director of the Center for Connected Health Policy, a nonprofit that provides technical assistance to people with questions about telehealth policies.

Most mental-health telecare services under Medicare will continue after Sept. 30 because of a separate bill passed in 2021. But for other types of appointments, what will happen next is unclear.

Some providers may continue to offer telehealth to Medicare patients after Sept. 30, Kwong says. The telehealth flexibilities have been extended so many times in the past that many providers may assume they will be extended again, eventually—perhaps with retroactive payment for services rendered before Congress takes action. Smaller providers might not have the financial flexibility to do that, though. They may try to reschedule telehealth patients for a few weeks or months down the line, at which time they hope Congress will have acted.”