As of October 1, 2025, the much-talked-about Medicare telehealth flexibilities are no more. With Congress failing to pass a FY 2026 spending bill, the government shutdown triggered a snap rollback to the restrictive pre-pandemic rules for Medicare.

That means:

• Patients once able to access telehealth from home may now be forced back into certain healthcare facility settings (with few exceptions).
• Only certain provider types will be eligible to offer telehealth under Medicare.
• For mental health services, clinicians must now see patients in person within six months before the first telehealth visit, and every 12 months afterward.
• Though providers can still submit claims, payments are being held in limbo (CMS has instructed Medicare Administrative Contractors to temporarily hold claims) rather than immediately rejecting them.

We’re keeping a close watch on how this unfolds—following Congress to see if telehealth flexibilities get restored and looking to CMS for guidance on what providers can do to stay ahead of the changes. Stay tuned!

For more details, check out the Special Edition MLN Connects update here.