The shutdown leaves telehealth for Medicare patients in limbo

"But Stearn, who serves on the patient advisory council for Johns Hopkins Medicine, says the loss of telehealth services complicates life for almost everyone from the working person to Stearn's own 90-year-old mother, who hates traveling to and from the doctor. "When I have a cold, do you really want me to go into the doctor's office and confer with everybody else?" Strearn says. "There are just so many different reasons why telehealth is a good idea.""

""It's a continual disaster for access," says Kyle Zebley, senior vice president of public policy at the American Telemedicine Association. Even large hospital systems, he says, do not have a large financial cushion to be able to continue offering services without government reimbursement. Plus, there is no clear guidance that providers will be reimbursed for telehealth services during the"

Medicare temporarily stopped paying for telehealth during the government shutdown because pandemic-era allowances could not be reauthorized. Nearly 7 million Medicare beneficiaries use telehealth annually. Many patients were forced to choose in-person appointments, often weeks away, or pay out of pocket for virtual visits. Some who paid hope for reimbursement after the government reopens. The loss of telehealth complicates access for working people and older adults who have difficulty traveling. Hospital systems lack financial cushions to sustain telehealth without reimbursement. There is currently no clear guidance that providers will be reimbursed for telehealth services during the lapse.

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