Sponsors (2)
Official title: To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to protect access to telehealth services under the Medicare program.
Introduced February 9, 2026 by Chris Pappas · Last progress February 9, 2026
The bill permanently broadens Medicare telehealth—greatly improving access (especially for rural, senior, and behavioral-health patients) and stabilizing payments for some rural providers—while raising significant fiscal costs, quality and continuity risks, state-by-state access variability, and oversight/implementation challenges.
Medicare beneficiaries (especially seniors, rural residents, and people with disabilities) gain permanent, broader access to telehealth from more locations, more practitioner types, and more technologies (including audio-only and store-and-forward), increasing ability to get care without travel.
Patients needing behavioral and mental health services (particularly in rural and underserved areas) will have expanded access via payable telehealth and audio-only counseling, lowering barriers to mental-health care.
Rural and safety‑net providers (critical access hospitals, FQHCs, RHCs, and other covered facilities) receive stronger and more predictable payment rules (e.g., CAH payment at 101% of reasonable costs; telehealth cost-based or parity payments), improving financial viability for some rural hospitals and clinics.
Taxpayers and the Medicare program face higher spending risk because expanded telehealth coverage and payment parity (including audio-only and 101% cost‑based CAH payments) are likely to increase utilization and program costs.
Medicare beneficiaries risk lower-quality care or missed diagnoses and weakened continuity if remote visits substitute for necessary in-person assessment, particularly with audio-only visits and without strong safeguards.
Beneficiaries may face inconsistent access across states because state-defined 'established patient relationship' rules can limit who may provide telehealth, producing variable coverage and cross‑state barriers.
Based on analysis of 6 sections of legislative text.
Removes certain Medicare telehealth location/technology limits, creates permanent CAH telehealth payment, requires separate FQHC/RHC telehealth rates, and allows audio‑only payment for specified services.
Removes several Medicare restrictions on where and how telehealth may be delivered and creates permanent payment flexibilities for rural providers. The bill eliminates certain geographic and technology limits for Medicare telehealth (with key changes taking effect January 1, 2027), permanently allows Critical Access Hospitals to be paid for telehealth at cost-based rates, requires separate telehealth payment rates for Rural Health Clinics and Federally Qualified Health Centers, and authorizes audio‑only payment for a defined list of services (also effective January 1, 2027). It also expresses Congress’s view that expanded categories of practitioners authorized to provide Medicare telehealth during the COVID-19 emergency should be made permanent (non‑binding).