Resources & Reports

The Medicare telehealth waivers expired on January 30, 2026; however, Congress is working on passing an agreement made last week that would allow these flexibilities to be extended to the end of 2027 through H.R. 7148, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2026. While we are in the midst of a brief lapse in the telehealth waivers and a partial shutdown of the federal government, the House is trying to pass the bill and will potentially take it up today. As with the last shutdown, the new language is expected to apply retroactively and cover the lapse period.  This deal will restore continuity to Medicare telehealth coverage and avoid a prolonged return to permanent, pre-pandemic policy. The extension will maintain key flexibilities, including expanded originating sites, geographic waivers, and eligibility for certain providers that would otherwise be unavailable under permanent Medicare telehealth rules.  Details on which policies are affected were outlined in CCHP’s newsletter from last week.

Last Thursday, the House passed HR 7148 – The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2026 which includes the FY 2026 Appropriations package for Labor, Health and Human Services (LHHS), Education and Related Agencies.  This bill includes an extension for the Medicare telehealth waivers through December 31, 2027.

After another short-term extension of Medicare telehealth flexibilities through January 30, 2026, national provider organizations and industry groups are again intensifying their push for Congress to make key telehealth waivers permanent. The latest extension—passed as part of a continuing resolution (CR) to reopen the federal government—once again highlights the importance of telehealth across the Medicare program and the ongoing uncertainty providers and patients face if temporary policies are allowed to expire, even if applied retroactively, or are repeatedly renewed at the last minute.

Happy New Year to all of our readers!  While there are currently no new updates on the Medicare Telehealth waivers, which are set to expire on January 30, 2026, there are however a few other federal updates that developed at the end of 2025 that are highly noteworthy, and are the focus of this week’s #TelehealthTuesday newsletter.

In December, the Department of Health and Human Services released its long-anticipated Artificial Intelligence Strategy, outlining a unified, department-wide approach to integrating AI across internal operations, research, public health, and health care delivery. The Strategy represents the next phase of HHS’s efforts to modernize federal health programs under President Trump’s January executive order directing federal agencies to develop tailored AI plans. It also implements elements of the Administration’s broader AI Action Plan, as well as Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Memoranda M-25-21 and M-25-22 released earlier this year, which establish federal requirements for AI governance, risk management, and transparency.