Center for Connected Health Policy, PO Box 981655, West Sacramento, CA (2025)

10/31/2025

The government shutdown is in its fifth week with no clear end on the horizon. Meanwhile, Medicare telehealth flexibilities and a separate Medicare program offering patients hospital-level care at home both remain paused.

Mei Kwong, executive director of the Center for Connected Health Policy, said the simplest solution to renewing the telehealth waivers would be for Congress to vote separately on them.

It 'feels like you're taking a step back,' says one patient

10/30/2025

The government shutdown is in its fifth week with no clear end on the horizon. Meanwhile, Medicare telehealth flexibilities and a separate Medicare program offering patients hospital-level care at home both remain paused.

Mei Kwong, executive director of the Center for Connected Health Policy, said the simplest solution to renewing the telehealth waivers would be for Congress to vote separately on them.

Bill Swick, who has a rare degenerative brain disease, has lost access to virtual speech therapy due to the federal government shutdown.

10/28/2025

💫 It's Finally Back! CCHP’s 50-State Telehealth Policy Report - Fall 2025 Findings & Analysis

The Center for Connected Health Policy (CCHP) is pleased to announce the release of its 2025 State Telehealth Policy Summary. Alongside the report, CCHP has also published a companion chart that outlines how states compare across a range of telehealth policies, as well as an infographic capturing the major findings. For those seeking state-specific details, the most up-to-date information can always be accessed and exported as a PDF directly from CCHP’s online Policy Finder tool. This edition reflects CCHP’s review of states conducted between late May and early September 2025. In some cases, states may have enacted significant legislation or implemented new policies after their respective review date; in which case, those changes will be reflected in future Policy Finder updates.

Just Released❗CCHP's 2025 50-State Telehealth Policy Summary Report, companion state chart outlining how states compare, and at-a-glance infographic

10/27/2025

The health system's hospital-at-home program is in limbo after the CMS waiver expired, with OSF having discharged all patients and redistributed staff amid the uncertainty.

10/24/2025

Access to telehealth could keep parents from missing work, reduce transportation issues if providers are far away, decrease student absenteeism, and streamline the system for seeing a physician for more common illnesses that are easily treated.

This Community Schools pilot is building infrastructure for health care to be delivered through schools, where children are every single day.

10/23/2025

CMS Telehealth Flexibilities and Government Shutdown Update: Continued Claims Hold And Further Resources

CMS directs MACs to continue to hold Medicare telehealth claims from October 1, 2025, and later amid shutdown. Behavioral telehealth stays largely intact.

10/22/2025

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Oct. 21 announced that it has instructed all Medicare Administrative Contractors to lift a hold and begin processing claims dated Oct. 1 and later for those paid under the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule, ground ambulance transport claims and federally qualified health center claims. This also includes lifting holds on telehealth claims that CMS can confirm are for behavioral health services. CMS directed all MACs to continue a temporary claims hold that began Oct. 1 for other telehealth services and acute Hospital Care at Home claims, as the shutdown approaches the start of a fourth week.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Oct. 21 announced that it has instructed all Medicare Administrative Contractors to lift a hold and begin processing claims dated Oct. 1 and later for those paid under the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule, ground ambulance transport claims and federally qu...

10/21/2025

A recent Journal of General Internal Medicine study, Comparative Analysis of Clinical Outcomes Related to Telehealth and In-Person Encounters Among Older Veterans with Diabetes, found that telehealth can lead to improved patient satisfaction, continuity of care, and clinical outcomes.

A recent Journal of General Internal Medicine study, "Comparative Analysis of Clinical Outcomes Related to Telehealth and In-Person Encounters Among Older Veterans with Diabetes", found that telehealth can lead to improved patient satisfaction, continuity of care, and clinical outcomes.

10/20/2025

Congress has previously extended the Medicare fee-for-service telehealth flexibilities that were originally implemented during the COVID-19 public health emergency in 2020 multiple times, with the latest extension expiring September 30, 2025. While there is broad bipartisan support for these flexibilities, Congress has included the short-term extensions in government funding legislation. Because Congress did not reach an agreement on government funding prior to the expiration of these flexibilities, as of October 1, 2025, the Medicare telehealth flexibilities revert to pre-pandemic limitations.

Congress has previously extended the Medicare fee-for-service telehealth flexibilities that were originally implemented during the COVID-19 public health emergency in 2020 multiple times, with the latest extension expiring September 30, 2025. While there is broad bipartisan support for these flexibi...

10/17/2025

Telehealth providers may have to curtail some remote services as Medicare payments are withheld because of the government shutdown, health policy experts and industry groups have warned.

In addition to federal government funding lapsing at the end of September, legal flexibilities allowing for the payment of certain telehealth services under Medicare also came to an end, including the ability for patients to receive services in their home.

Service users face likely disruption after the Trump administration on Wednesday announced it would continue to temporarily hold payments for telehealth claims made on or after Oct. 1, as the shutdown drags into a third week.

10/16/2025

On October 1, 2025, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued guidance regarding Medicare telehealth claims during the government shutdown via a special edition of the Medicare Learning Network (MLN) Newsletter. In the update, CMS stated that when legislative payment provisions are scheduled to expire, CMS directs Medicare Administrative Contractors (MACs) to implement a temporary claims hold, typically of up to 10 business days. The hold is meant to prevent a large reprocessing of claims if Congress acts after the statutory expiration date, which was September 30, 2025. As the 10-day hold period had expired on October 14, CMS has now issued an additional claims hold update on October 15, 2025, stating that in anticipation of possible Congressional action, CMS has instructed all MACs to continue to temporarily hold claims with dates of service of October 1, 2025 and later for services impacted by the expired Medicare legislative waivers. This includes all claims paid under the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule, ground ambulance transport claims, and all Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) claims.

While providers may continue to submit these claims, CMS states that payment will not be released until the claims hold is lifted. Also noted in the update, CMS again suggests that without further Congressional action, providers that continue to deliver telehealth services that are now not eligible for Medicare payment as of October 1, 2025, may want to provide patients with an Advance Beneficiary Notice of Noncoverage. Meanwhile, stakeholders including the American Telemedicine Association (ATA) are advocating that Congress include a retroactive statement in any future funding fix, to help reassure providers that reimbursement of telehealth services delivered during the waiver gap period will eventually be provided.

CMS has updated their Telehealth FAQ (as of 10/15/25) to reflect the Medicare changes in effect as of October 1, 2025, consistent with the legislative waiver expirations at the end of September. In particular, two of the issues appear to now be addressed in the updated FAQ...

10/15/2025

A requirement for Medicare to reimburse medical providers for telehealth services has expired due to the federal government shutdown.

While the government is closed, Medicare recipients’ access to previously covered telehealth visits is no longer guaranteed.

Dr. Leslie Eiland, the director of digital health at Nebraska Medicine, said telehealth patients with scheduled visits at her organization now have three options.

“You can cancel your appointment, you can reschedule to an in-person appointment or you can prepare to assume financial responsibility of the appointment if Medicare does not cover the visit,” Eiland said.

Medicare coverage for telehealth visits expired when the federal government shut down. Without permanent legislation, Nebraska’s medical providers aren’t guaranteed reimbursement for remote visits that patients have grown to rely on since the pandemic.

Center for Connected Health Policy