Overview
- Medicare’s pandemic-era telehealth waivers expired Oct. 1 when funding lapsed, rolling coverage back to pre-2020 limits for many home-based video and audio-only visits.
- The American Telemedicine Association estimates roughly 30% of hospitals and health systems have paused Medicare telehealth, with NYU Langone and St. Elizabeth shifting patients to in-person care.
- Other systems are continuing virtual visits while accepting reimbursement risk or using unaffected arrangements, including UC San Diego Health, NYC Health + Hospitals, Sharp and Kaiser Permanente.
- Scripps rescheduled 435 Medicare telehealth appointments and kept 642 virtual through its ACO, while some patients who opt to stay virtual are being warned they could be billed if Medicare does not pay.
- A separate lapse in the Hospital at Home waiver forced providers to move patients back into facilities, including about 30 at Mayo Clinic, underscoring wider operational and financial strain.