Resources & Reports

CCHP’s October newsletter is here! This month’s topics include – MEDICARE: Telehealth Policy – Where Do We Stand Post-Waiver Expiration?; NEW(ish):  MONTHLY COLUMN IN THE CCHP NEWSLETTER; Federal Agencies and Congress Turn Their Attention to AI in Health Care; Ethical and Professional Perspectives on Telehealth: Insights from ACOG and AOA; ATA Launches Digital Infrastructure Score to Benchmark Community Readiness for Telehealth; Study Finds Gaps in Same-Day Mental Health Access for Telehealth Patients; Latest Developments in CCHP’s Telehealth Policy Finder.

The expiration of the Medicare telehealth waivers on September 30, 2025, has created significant uncertainty for providers as longstanding flexibilities have been scaled back or altered. While Congress continues to negotiate a government funding package that may reinstate some of these flexibilities, permanent statutory restrictions are now in effect layered with Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS)’ guidance that is at times ambiguous or unclear. As a result, providers are facing complex questions regarding in-person visit requirements, billing procedures, and the applicability of policies across different care settings. As a result, CCHP has created two new resource documents in an effort to add some clarity to the currently quite complex landscape.

1. FAQ Document:  outlines common questions CCHP has received in regard to telehealth, including mental health and FQHC/RHC information.
2. Summary Chart:  outlines current permanent telehealth policy as CCHP understands it today, with accompanying source citations and insights.

Today, September 30^th, is the last day before the Medicare telehealth waivers expire, unless Congress is able to pass an extension before midnight tonight. As many readers are already aware, on March 14, 2025, the federal telehealth waivers applicable to Medicare, which have been in place since the pandemic, were extended for an additional six months, until September 30, 2025. In recent weeks, several proposed extensions of these waivers have been made within recent budget talks. If no final deal materializes, the result will not only be an expiration of the Medicare telehealth waivers, but a federal government shutdown.