As I write this blog the view from my window is a winter wonderland. Colorado got a huge snowstorm yesterday and it is beautiful! Two days ago, my husband and a friend sat at our firepit out back enjoying a bright, sunny day. The only constant truly is change. And in Colorado, the weather is ever changing and that’s one of the reasons I love living here.
Speaking of change, we are again awaiting action on the budget legislation and what will happen to telehealth as we have known it the past 5 years since COVID. You will recall that during COVID, the government expanded the originating site waiver that allowed patients to be seen in their homes and providers to provide telehealth services from their homes for many expanded services. Prior to COVID, telehealth was reserved for mental health and substance use disorder treatment as well as for rural health.
In November, 2025, we saw a temporary extension of the originating site waiver due to the temporary funding bill (H.R. 5371) which expires on January 30, 2026. So, we are back where we found ourselves in September, not knowing if telehealth will continue as it has since COVID or if there will be some permanent changes. The legislation to watch is:
S. 2709 (Telehealth Modernization Act) Title: A bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to extend certain telehealth flexibilities under the Medicare program., introduced 9/4/2025, summary pending.
H.R. 1407 (Permanent Telehealth from Home Act) Title: To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to remove geographic requirements and expand originating sites for telehealth services under the Medicare program., introduced 2/18/2025; Summary: This bill permanently allows any site to serve as an originating site (i.e., the location of the beneficiary) for purposes of Medicare telehealth services, including a beneficiary’s home.
H.R. 5081 (Telehealth Modernization Act) Title: To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to extend certain telehealth flexibilities under the Medicare program, introduced 9/2/2025, summary pending.
Lastly, the 2026 Final Rule includes some permanent changes regarding telehealth – allows virtual direct supervision, teaching physicians can supervise residents virtually, and adds the following services to the List of Telehealth Services for 2026:
90849 Multiple-family group psychotherapy
92622 Diagnostic analysis, programming, and verification of an auditory osseointegrated sound processor, any type; first 60 minutes
92623 Diagnostic analysis, programming, and verification of an auditory osseointegrated sound processor, any type; each additional 15 minutes (List separately in addition to code for primary procedure)
G0473 Face-to-face behavioral counseling for obesity, group (2-10), 30 minutes
G0545 Visit complexity inherent to hospital inpatient or observation care associated with a confirmed or suspected infectious disease by an infectious diseases specialist, including disease transmission risk assessment and mitigation, public health investigation, analysis, and testing, and complex antimicrobial therapy counseling and treatment (add-on code, list separately in addition to hospital inpatient or observation evaluation and management visit, initial, same day discharge, subsequent or discharge)
I don’t know about you, but telehealth has improved access to my providers, allowing telehealth visits the same day as a positive COVID home test, improving the time from treatment to recovery. My telehealth experiences have all been positive and I am hopeful that we will see some permanent telehealth legislation in this legislative cycle.
