On March 15, 2025, President Donald Trump signed a continuing resolution extending funding of the federal government through September 2025. Included in the continuing resolution were provisions that also extended Medicare telehealth flexibilities through September 2025.
Many providers in the healthcare industry have come to rely upon these virtual services for the delivery of care to patients. These flexibilities were originally set to expire on March 31, 2025, after having been put in place during the COVID pandemic. Up until only a few days ago, many feared they were going to be allowed to expire at the end of the month.
Of primary significance, the continuing resolution permits the following flexibilities, among others, to continue:
- Enabling telehealth visits to occur from a wider range of locations, including a patient’s home, rather than the services being limited to rural areas and requiring certain originating sites.
- Permitting additional qualified provider types and services to deliver virtual care, including physical and occupational therapy, emergency department visits, and nursing facility care.
- Extending the Acute Hospital Care at Home Program, which allows Medicare-certified hospitals to furnish inpatient-level care in patients’ homes.
- Continuing the waiver of the in-person visit requirement for behavioral health services.
While many had pushed for these flexibilities to be made permanent, or at least extended for a longer period of time, the continuing resolution will provide Congress and telehealth advocates with an additional six months to continue work on shaping the future of telehealth services.