Telehealth Coverage Act of 2025
Sponsored By: Representative Khanna
Introduced
Summary
Makes permanent expanded Medicare telehealth flexibilities put in place during the public health emergency. It locks in broader access, preserves audio-only visits, and aligns ongoing policy with the emergency authority so telehealth applies back to the start of the emergency period.
Show full summary
- Patients and families: Keeps telehealth as a lasting option, including audio-only visits and telehealth use for hospice recertification with required safeguards and billing modifiers.
- Clinics and frontline providers: Expands which practitioners can furnish telehealth and ensures Federally Qualified Health Centers and Rural Health Clinics have coverage dating to the emergency period. It removes in-person visit requirements for specific services like home dialysis monthly visits, stroke care, and substance use disorder and mental health services.
- Programs and administration: Extends Acute Hospital Care at Home waiver flexibilities and expands in-home cardiopulmonary rehab and virtual Diabetes Prevention Program suppliers. The Secretary must create telehealth claim modifiers by Jan 1, 2026 and issue guidance on telehealth for people with limited English proficiency within one year.
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Bill Overview
Analyzed Economic Effects
7 provisions identified: 6 benefits, 0 costs, 1 mixed.
Keep Medicare Hospital-at-Home option
If enacted, the Medicare Hospital-at-Home waiver flexibilities would continue beyond March 31, 2025. They would apply on or after the day after the end of a formal emergency period. This could help eligible patients keep getting hospital-level care at home.
More Medicare telehealth, fewer in-person visits
If enacted, Medicare telehealth rules would no longer end on March 31, 2025. They would follow a formal emergency-period trigger instead. More types of clinicians and FQHCs/RHCs could keep doing telehealth, including mental health visits after April 1, 2025. Written in-person visit rules for home dialysis monthly checks, stroke care, and some substance use and mental health visits would be removed. Audio-only options could continue where allowed, with HHS setting the rules.
Telehealth for hospice recertification, with safeguards
If enacted, telehealth could satisfy the face-to-face visit used to recertify hospice care when an emergency period starts. On or after March 31, 2025, this would not apply in areas with a hospice enrollment moratorium, for patients of providers under enhanced oversight, or when the clinician is not properly enrolled and not an opt-out practitioner. Starting January 1, 2026, hospice telehealth encounters would need special claim codes or modifiers set by HHS. The bill would also direct HHS to set modifiers for telehealth through virtual platforms and for incident-to services.
Clinician tips on movement-disorder screening
If enacted, by January 1, 2026 HHS would send education to Medicare clinicians on screening for medication-induced movement disorders. It would include telehealth best practices and how to reflect screening in billing codes.
Home cardiac rehab by live video
If enacted, starting March 31, 2025, you could receive cardiac or pulmonary rehab at home by live audio-video. Phone-only calls would not count. HHS could issue instructions to put this in place.
Online Diabetes Prevention under Medicare
If enacted, starting January 1, 2026, organizations could join the Medicare Diabetes Prevention Program as online-only suppliers. Services could be live or not. Claims could be paid even if you are in a different state from the supplier. There would be no limit on how many times you can enroll.
Telehealth help for limited English patients
If enacted, within one year HHS would issue best-practice guidance to serve patients with limited English during telehealth. It would cover using interpreters, giving multi-language instructions, making patient portals easier to use, and using multi-person video for interpretation. Materials like reminders and prescription info would be available in more languages.
Sponsors & CoSponsors
Sponsor
Khanna
CA • D
Cosponsors
There are no cosponsors for this bill.
Roll Call Votes
No roll call votes available for this bill.
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