September 26, 2025

At the present time, (federal) Medicare Telehealth Flexibilities are set to expire at 11:59 pm on September 30 (along with the Continuing Budget Resolution we’ve been living under while Congress fights over the next one that must be in place by September 30 at 11:59 ito avoid an at least partial shutdown of the federal government. This expiration means many of the relaxed rules, such as allowing patients to receive care from their homes regardless of location, will end, impacting access for many beneficiaries. However, some telehealth provisions, like coverage for mental health services, are established to continue. 

In the meantime, the House passed their Continuing Budget Resolution that would extend the flexibilities for an additional 7 weeks (from October 1), while the Senate drafted but did not pass a CR that would extend the flexibilities by a month.  Unfortunately, to this point there has been no meeting of the minds on one bill that could get through Congress and extend the conversation (and current spending levels), averting a shutdown and extending the flexibilities currently at risk. 

We provided the following information links to members on 9/13/25 – just the latest in our regular coverage of both Medicaid (largely controlled by the state) and Medicare telehealth flexibilities post-COVID.   Since then I’ve added a new link from the National Law Review.  It’s a useful article from an always accurate and timely source:

National Review:  https://natlawreview.com/article/medicare-coverage-telehealth-ends-sept-30-are-behavioral-health-providers-ready

From the Telehealth Resource Center:  https://telehealthresourcecenter.org/resources/the-telehealth-policy-cliff-preparing-for-october-1-2025/

Congress will return next week with just two days to agree on a funding solution needed to avoid a government shutdown — and the future of health care is part of the divide. Here’s how talks of a shutdown are impacting telehealth.

— Democrats and Republicans can’t agree on whether measures to fund the government, which need to be finalized before Tuesday at 11:59 p.m., will address temporary funding for telehealth.

— Medicare has covered telehealth visits under a bill that’s been continuously extended for the past five years, but that funding is set to expire at the end of this month.

— A stopgap bill introduced by House GOP leaders last week would have extended telehealth funding through the end of November, but the measure failed to pass through the Senate.

In a statement calling for Congress to include protections for telehealth in a continuing resolution, Kyle Zebley, executive director of the American Telemedicine Association’s advocacy branch, wrote lawmakers should “at least give providers some reassurance that they will receive back payment for essential healthcare services delivered during this shutdown.”

We’ll be monitoring to see what Congress does and how long the telehealth coverage would be lapsed.