Resources & Reports

Much of the telehealth community has been waiting to see what the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) will be proposing in the 2026 Physician Fee Schedule (PFS). The wait was over when on July 14, 2025 the unpublished version of the 2026 PFS was released (the official version was subsequently published in the Federal Register). For those who are unfamiliar, the PFS is the vehicle CMS uses to update, change or introduce new policies that will impact the Medicare program for the following year. Unless otherwise stated, the policies typically go into effect on the first of the new year.

While many are likely familiar with the usual policy channels for telehealth in states, such as laws, regulations, Medicaid manuals, providers letters and bulletins, which comprise the majority of source information on the Center for Connected Health Policy’s (CCHP) Policy Finder, occasionally a state agency or other various organizations in the state may develop and make available additional valuable telehealth resources that readers may find helpful, yet they do not fit into the CCHP Policy Finder’s specific categories (which currently include Medicaid Reimbursement, Private Payer Policies, and Professional Regulation).  Below are a few examples that demonstrate the variety of different materials that could be useful to patients, providers and policymakers.

CCHP’s July Newsletter is here! This month’s topics include – CMS Updates Mental Health & Substance Use Disorder Telehealth Coverage Guidance; Congress Weighs Digital Health Innovation in House Committee Hearing; Telehealth and Nutrition Policy Align Under MAHA Momentum; Latest Developments in CCHP’s Telehealth Policy Finder; New Study to Evaluate Telerehabilitation for Chronic Low Back Pain in Rural Areas; Remote Care Quality & RPM’s Future. 

While Medicare telehealth policy is certainly important, we should not forget that there are also other coverage and reimbursement policies that will impact the utilization and reimbursement of telehealth, such as Medicaid and private payer policies.  Unlike the Medicare telehealth policies, the fate of telehealth private payer policies rest primarily in the hands of the states, as each state crafts their own policies regarding commercial payers’ coverage and reimbursement of telehealth delivered services.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is crafting an ambitious institute-wide strategy to guide its use and development of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies—and they are now seeking public input. The NIH is calling on researchers, health systems, developers, and stakeholders across sectors to help shape the direction of biomedical AI over the coming decade. The deadline for submitting comments is July 15, 2025.