Medicare Telehealth Waivers Expire, Impacting Access and Hospital-at-Home Programs

The expiration of Medicare telehealth waivers and acute hospital care at home programs as of September 30 has raised concerns about the future of telehealth access for Medicare beneficiaries.

 These flexibilities, originally established during the COVID-19 pandemic, enabled providers to deliver telehealth services reimbursed under Medicare, including home-based visits and hospital-at-home care. With the lapse, providers will no longer receive reimbursement for telehealth services delivered to patients in their homes, and pre-pandemic restrictions, especially affecting rural and facility-based care, will be reinstated.

The National Consortium of Telehealth Resource Centers highlights that federally qualified health centers and rural health clinics will lose the ability to serve as distant site providers for most telehealth services after December 2025. This change threatens the accessibility of telehealth in underserved and rural communities, potentially limiting patient care options.

Healthcare organizations including the American Hospital Association have urged Congress, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), and other federal agencies to make the telehealth flexibilities permanent. They emphasize that these waivers have supported significant benefits in patient care continuity and access, warning that their removal risks a sharp decline in telehealth availability nationwide.

Health systems like Hackensack Meridian Health have already paused new admissions to their Hospital From Home programs pending waiver reinstatement, reflecting operational impacts from this regulatory shift. Industry leaders express concern over market uncertainty, with some providers continuing telehealth services without Medicare reimbursement, while others cut back due to the financial and administrative challenges.

Stakeholders argue that maintaining telehealth and remote patient monitoring programs for Medicare patients is a public policy imperative, essential for reducing hospital visits and supporting care access. The current situation underscores the need for regulatory clarity and long-term policy decisions to secure telehealth's role in the U.S. healthcare system.