‘A very sad, desperate state’ as telehealth flexibilities go on hold: What does this mean for physicians and patients?

Telehealth rule flexibilities that went into effect during the COVID-19 pandemic, and that were continued afterward, have expired.

That means rules have reverted to pre-pandemic levels for Medicare fee-for-service reimbursement for medical services delivered online or by phone instead of in-person.

What does that mean for physicians and their patients? Doctors, other clinicians could continue offering online visits in hopes of retroactive reimbursement, but it is not guaranteed.

In this video series, Kyle Zebley senior vice president, public policy, of the American Telemedicine Association (ATA), and executive director of ATA Action, its advocacy affiliate, offers his summary as of Oct. 3. The telehealth flexibilities expired after Sept. 30, 2025. That coincided with the end of the federal government’s fiscal year. But with no new budget in place, many services of the federal government are in shutdown, with lots of political blame and seemingly little cooperation among Republicans and Democrats in Washington, D.C.

ATA has created this online advocacy tool for physicians, patients or anyone to let lawmakers know about why the technologies — and physician payment — are so important to U.S. health care.