2025 Telehealth Updates
At the end of December, Congress passed a bill that extended telehealth flexibilities for another 3 months. This article will summarize the current state of telehealth coverage and what changes to look out for later this year.
What You Need to Know
During the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency, telehealth restrictions were relaxed, allowing more patients access to the care they needed while the world was on lock-down. When the public health emergency expired on May 11, 2023, telehealth flexibilities were extended through the end of 2024 by the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023 (CAA). These flexibilities included eliminating the originating and geographic site restrictions so patients could continue to receive telehealth services in any geographic area in the United States and remain in their homes rather than going to a healthcare facility. Last month, Congress was unable to vote on a larger bi-partisan bill, which included a proposed 2-year extension of telehealth flexibilities, due to disagreements over the funding portion of the legislation. Instead, they enacted a short-term spending bill that included a 3-month extension of Medicare telehealth flexibilities through the end of March. During the next three months, Congress will revisit the current telehealth regulations and decide whether to extend them again.
What this Means for You
Currently, there are no changes to Medicare telehealth rules and restrictions in 2025. Patients in both rural and non-rural locations can continue to receive orthotic and prosthetic prescriptions from a telehealth visit with their treating physician, and they are not required to be in a medical facility during the appointment. However, this could change as early as April this year. While it is possible that Congress will decide to extend these flexibilities, or possibly even make them permanent, it is also possible that they will reinstate prior restrictions, such as limiting coverage to patients in a rural zip code or requiring the patient to be in a medical clinic/facility during the appointment. We will continue to monitor Congress activity and will update you regarding any changes as the information becomes available.