Advocates say the coverage has bipartisan support, but efforts to make it permanent have been unsuccessful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For Kaye Peterson, 67, the expansion of Medicare telehealth coverage during Covid-19 was a godsend. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Peterson, who has Type 1 diabetes and lives in an assisted living facility, no longer drives, so she depends on extended family when she needs in-person appointments with specialists who are roughly an hour away from her home in Lebanon, Kentucky. But for routine primary care, she simply uses her iPhone. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Soon that may no longer be possible. On March 31, <\/strong>Medicare telehealth \u201cflexibilities\u201d established during the Covid-19 pandemic are set to expire<\/a>. Recent social media posts, including the one that alerted Peterson to the change, have prompted an outcry from beneficiaries and their families who rely on the service. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI\u2019m in a care facility full of people in wheelchairs and on oxygen,\u201d Peterson said. \u201cIt\u2019s just a commonsense rule that needs to be extended.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Health advocates say the telemedicine options now at risk are particularly important for older adults who are homebound or, like Peterson, live in rural communities far from their doctors\u2019 offices. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The current flexibilities were enacted when Congress waived restrictions in March 2020 under President Donald Trump and were extended several times under President Joe Biden.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If Congress doesn\u2019t act, on April 1, the previous rules will largely be restored, which means most telehealth appointments will be covered only if they\u2019re provided in person at rural medical facilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There will be exceptions for certain services<\/a>, such as mental health care and some visits for home dialysis treatments. <\/p>\n\n\n\n A lapse could have ramifications for millions of Medicare beneficiaries. Roughly 13% of the nearly 22 million <\/strong>people <\/strong>with traditional coverage received a telehealth service<\/a> from October to December 2023. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Dr. Cecil Bennett, a family medicine physician in Newnan, Georgia, outside Atlanta, estimates that half of his clinic\u2019s patients are on Medicare. Some already have telehealth appointments scheduled months out. He often uses telehealth to deliver simple information, like lab results, and fears that some patients may miss <\/strong>necessary appointments if they require in-person visits, allowing conditions to worsen. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThere\u2019s no doubt in my mind that seniors are going to suffer if this waiver goes away,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In Mississippi, Dr. Saurabh Chandra, chief telehealth officer at the University of Mississippi Medical Center, said the flexibilities can mean the difference between older adults having virtual appointments at 2 a.m. during busy flu seasons or traveling long distances to emergency rooms. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThis state was made for telehealth,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n As Congress clashes over a GOP-led House proposal that could slash Medicaid spending<\/a>, advocates are hopeful that telehealth services offered via Medicare will remain a bipartisan cause. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cFederal government does things last-minute,\u201d said Kyle Zebley, senior vice president for public policy at the American Telemedicine Association. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe have a wonderful place in being bipartisan that we find ourselves in a very divided, very polarized time,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019ll continue to work to do all we can to maintain that.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Telehealth, though, hasn\u2019t been immune from political crossfire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What initially started as a two-year extension for the program shrank to three months during the scramble in December to avoid a government shutdown after President-elect Trump and Elon Musk pushed to kill<\/a> a broader spending bill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Some members of Congress hope to allay older adults\u2019 concerns and make the flexibilities permanent. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In a statement to NBC News, Sen. Lisa Blunt Rochester, D-Del., who co-introduced a bipartisan bill to solidify the provisions when she was in the House, described the flexibilities as \u201cvital\u201d \u2014 \u201cespecially for those in underserved and rural communities and those with accessibility or transportation barriers\u201d \u2014 and said she is still fighting for permanent protections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., whose viral social media posts brought attention to the looming deadline, said he plans to introduce similar legislation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhat is the rationale for this other than making life more difficult for many seniors?\u201d Khanna said on X<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With the fate of telehealth still uncertain, Bennett is waiting to see whether the appointments he has booked can proceed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI really hope that Congress acts quickly,\u201d he said. \u201cI know that they kick the can down the road \u2014 I\u2019m fine with that as long as they keep kicking the can.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n