Telehealth Policy Changes: Everything You Need to Stay Compliant in 2025
The expansion of telehealth services during the COVID-19 pandemic marked a revolutionary change in how patients access medical care, breaking down geographical and accessibility barriers. But the expansion was due to end in April 2025 – until the House of Representatives voted to extend it for a further six months.
What does this mean for healthcare providers’ use of telehealth – and how should they approach the service moving forward?
The following article answers those questions and equips you with reliable information to maintain full compliance with Medicare standards – and ensure millions of Americans can still receive telehealth services.
Telehealth Policy Overview: A Win for Care Access
The latest data suggests roughly one-fifth of all Medicare beneficiaries use telehealth services,1 making inclusion of the service within Medicare vital for multiple reasons:
- Accessibility: Telehealth ensures patients with mobility issues or living in remote locations can access care. It can also reduce the costs associated with care, which may put many patients off, such as commuting to a physical hospital.
- Managing Resources: Most patients who receive telehealth do not require an in-person follow-up for three months,2 making telehealth a viable alternative to traditional care. It also helps to reduce costs for specialist follow-ups and administrative expenses.3
- Care Continuity: Many patients are already used to telehealth and would be disrupted by losing access to remote care. Medicare has already stopped covering telehealth for cardiac and pulmonary rehabilitation, creating issues for patients with heart or lung issues.
The recent extension of telehealth coverage will preserve these benefits until at least September 30, 2025 – making it a win for both providers and patients.
What’s Included in the Extension?
1. Geographic and Site-of-Service Flexibility
The policy extension makes telehealth flexibilities permanent and removes geographical restrictions. While before COVID-19, Medicare policies limited telehealth to rural areas, patients can now receive care from the comfort of their homes – regardless of their location.
Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) and Rural Health Clinics (RHCs) can bill for telehealth services. Equally, urban-based beneficiaries will not lose out, especially if they suffer from other limitations that make in-person care harder to access.
2. Maintaining Provider Eligibility
Medicare will offer permanent coverage for telehealth services related to mental and behavioral issues. The extension will also enable all eligible Medicare providers to deliver telehealth through September 30, 2025, ensuring patients can also access remote care from:
- Physical therapists
- Occupational therapists
- Speech-language pathologists
- Audiologists
This diversity in service provision ensures patients can access a broader spectrum of care options.
3. Audio-Only Services Still Covered
Medicare will continue to reimburse for certain audio-only telehealth visits. This measure is essential for bridging the digital divide, particularly for patients who lack access to video technology. Equally, research shows that Medicare beneficiaries who use audio-only services are more likely to come from underserved demographics or have higher-risk conditions – making it even more critical to maintain access to reliable care.45
4. Mental Health Telehealth Flexibility
An in-person visit within six months of an initial Medicare behavioral/mental telehealth service and annually thereafter will not be required through September 30, 2025. For FQHCs and RHCs, the in-person visit requirement for mental health services furnished via communication technology to beneficiaries in their homes is not required until January 1, 2026.
What This Means for Future Medicare Compliance
While extending telehealth coverage is a big win for American healthcare access, it’s important to remember they are temporary. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) is likely to evaluate its long-term role and implement further changes – leaving the long-term status of telehealth uncertain for most providers.
Healthcare leaders must, therefore, remain vigilant. Compliance policies will need revisions to reflect these changes, but they will also need ongoing monitoring to manage future requirements and avoid potential risks. This may involve adapting policies, changing services, or simply working with consultants to understand the evolving regulatory landscape.
Compliance Resource Center can help you do that. Our document and policy templates make it easy to adapt to changing regulations and make sense of your complete legal requirements – ensuring you can offer telehealth through Medicare with confidence.
Resources:
- https://www.aha.org/fact-sheets/2025-02-07-fact-sheet-telehealth
- https://www.epicresearch.org/articles/telehealth-visits-unlikely-to-require-in-person-follow-up-within-90-days
- https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7605980/#:~:text=Results,in%20a%20more%20efficient%20way.
- https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11087829/#ald240005f1