Does Medicare Cover Telehealth Visits in 2026?

The question “does Medicare cover telehealth visits” has become increasingly important as virtual care has settled into American medicine. The short answer in 2026 is yes for a wide range of services — but the details matter, because Medicare’s telehealth rules are a patchwork of permanent policies and temporary flexibilities that Congress has repeatedly extended through short-term legislation. Some of those temporary provisions have been close to expiring and then extended again, so the single most important habit is to verify the current rules at Medicare.gov before you schedule. Here is a clear, appropriately hedged breakdown of what Medicare covers for telehealth in 2026.

This article is general education, not medical, legal, or coverage advice. For a comprehensive look at virtual care options, visit our telehealth guide.

A Brief History of Medicare and Telehealth

Before 2020, Medicare telehealth coverage was extremely limited. It was restricted to beneficiaries in rural areas, generally required the patient to be at a qualified medical facility (not at home), and covered only a narrow list of services. The COVID-19 public health emergency changed that. Through emergency waivers, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) expanded telehealth to beneficiaries regardless of location, allowed services from the patient’s home, added hundreds of eligible services, and waived geographic restrictions.

When the public health emergency ended in 2023, Congress passed legislation to extend many of these flexibilities, and it has continued to renew key provisions through subsequent bills — often for months at a time rather than permanently. As a result, the broad, pandemic-style flexibilities have been governed by a series of temporary extensions, and their end dates have moved more than once. Permanent, comprehensive telehealth legislation has been discussed with bipartisan support but, as of this writing, the broadest flexibilities still rest on extensions rather than permanent law. Treat any specific expiration date you read — including in older articles — as something to double-check against Medicare.gov.

What Is Permanent vs. Temporary

This distinction is the key to understanding Medicare telehealth, so it is worth stating plainly:

• Permanent: Coverage of behavioral and mental health services via telehealth is permanent under Medicare. That includes receiving mental health telehealth from your home, and audio-only (telephone) visits for mental health when you cannot or do not want to use video. Certain other narrow categories (for example, some services related to end-stage renal disease and acute stroke) also have lasting telehealth authority.
• Temporary / in flux: The broader ability to receive non-behavioral telehealth (such as a routine virtual office visit) from your home regardless of whether you live in a rural area has depended on Congress extending it. As of this writing, Medicare.gov describes this broad “from anywhere, including your home” coverage as available through a set date, but that date has been changed by legislation before and could change again. Verify the current status at Medicare.gov rather than relying on any date printed here or elsewhere.

In other words: if your telehealth visit is for mental or behavioral health, you can generally count on coverage from home for the long term. If it is a general medical (non-behavioral) telehealth visit from home and you are not in a rural area, coverage depends on the extension that is in effect at the time of your visit.

What Telehealth Services Does Medicare Cover in 2026?

As of 2026, Medicare covers a broad range of telehealth services. These fall into several categories.

Medicare Part B Telehealth Services

Medicare Part B covers outpatient telehealth visits with eligible providers, including evaluation and management visits (office visits conducted virtually), mental and behavioral health services (therapy, psychiatric evaluations, medication management), chronic care management, remote patient monitoring, annual wellness visits, follow-up visits for established patients, and certain specialist consultations. CMS maintains an official list of telehealth-eligible services that is updated on a periodic (generally annual) basis, so the exact set of covered codes can change from year to year. Check the current CMS list for whether a specific service is telehealth-eligible.

Audio-Only Telehealth

Audio-only (telephone) visits have been an important access point for older adults and those without reliable internet or comfort with video. For mental and behavioral health, audio-only coverage is a permanent feature. For some other services, audio-only has been allowed under the temporary flexibilities, so its availability outside behavioral health can depend on the current extension. When cost-sharing applies, it generally mirrors an equivalent in-person visit.

Mental Health Telehealth

Medicare has been especially supportive of telehealth for mental health. Therapy sessions, psychiatric consultations, and substance use disorder treatment are covered via telehealth, including from home. There is an in-person visit rule associated with mental health telehealth (an in-person visit within a defined window before starting, and periodically thereafter), but the start date for enforcing that requirement has itself been delayed repeatedly by Congress, and it can be waived when the provider and patient agree in-person care is not feasible. Confirm the current in-person requirement with your provider and at the CMS telehealth page.

Remote Patient Monitoring

Medicare covers remote patient monitoring (RPM) services, which use digital devices to collect and transmit health data (blood pressure, blood glucose, weight, oxygen saturation) to a healthcare provider. RPM is particularly useful for managing chronic conditions like hypertension, diabetes, and heart failure. Coverage can include device setup, patient education, and monthly monitoring by the provider’s clinical team.

What Medicare Does Not Cover for Telehealth

Despite the expansions, there are still limitations. Medicare does not cover telehealth visits with providers who are not enrolled in Medicare. Not all service types are eligible for telehealth delivery; some require a physical examination or hands-on procedures. Telehealth with out-of-state providers may be limited by state licensing laws. Prescriptions written during a telehealth visit are still subject to the usual Medicare drug-coverage rules — for example, drugs excluded from Part D remain excluded regardless of how the visit happened, and coverage for specific medications is determined by your Part D or Medicare Advantage drug plan, not by the visit format. Cosmetic consultations and elective procedures are excluded.

Additionally, Medicare Advantage (Part C) plans may have their own telehealth policies that differ from Original Medicare. Many Medicare Advantage plans have expanded telehealth benefits as a value-add, sometimes covering services not included in Original Medicare. Check your specific plan for details.

Cost-Sharing for Medicare Telehealth Visits

The cost-sharing structure for telehealth visits generally mirrors that of in-person visits under Medicare. For Original Medicare (Parts A and B), you typically pay 20 percent of the Medicare-approved amount after meeting the annual Part B deductible; Medicare pays the remaining share. The Part B deductible amount is set each year, so confirm the current-year figure at Medicare.gov rather than relying on a number from an older article. If you have a Medigap (supplemental) policy, it may cover some or all of the 20 percent coinsurance.

For Medicare Advantage plans, cost-sharing varies by plan. Many plans offer $0 or low-copay telehealth visits, sometimes lower than in-person visit copays, as an incentive to use virtual care. Review your plan’s Summary of Benefits to confirm telehealth-specific costs.

Where Can You Receive Medicare Telehealth Services?

One of the most significant pandemic-era changes has been the ability to receive telehealth services from your home. Before COVID-19, Medicare generally required patients to be at a qualified originating site (such as a clinic or hospital) in a rural area. For mental and behavioral health, receiving care from home is now permanent. For other (non-behavioral) telehealth, the ability to be at home regardless of geography rests on the temporary flexibilities that Congress has been extending — so whether you can do a routine, non-behavioral virtual visit from home outside a rural area depends on the extension in effect at the time.

This flexibility has been critical for beneficiaries with mobility limitations, transportation challenges, or chronic conditions that make frequent office visits burdensome. CMS has signaled support for making home-based telehealth more durable, but for non-behavioral services that ultimately depends on Congressional action. Check Medicare.gov for the current rule before assuming you can be seen from home.

Eligible Providers for Medicare Telehealth

Medicare covers telehealth visits with a range of provider types, including physicians (MDs and DOs), nurse practitioners, physician assistants, clinical psychologists, licensed clinical social workers, marriage and family therapists and mental health counselors (added in recent years), registered dietitians, certified nurse midwives, and certain specialists. The provider must be enrolled in Medicare and generally must be licensed in the state where the patient is located at the time of the visit. Some states participate in interstate licensure compacts that make cross-state telehealth easier, but coverage ultimately depends on the provider’s Medicare enrollment status.

How to Access Medicare Telehealth Visits

Getting started with Medicare telehealth is straightforward. Contact your existing healthcare provider to ask if they offer telehealth visits. Many primary care physicians, specialists, and mental health providers now offer virtual appointments as standard practice. If your current provider does not offer telehealth, national platforms such as Teladoc, Amwell, and MDLIVE work with Medicare for eligible services — but verify Medicare acceptance and any cost before scheduling by asking the platform or provider directly. You will need your Medicare ID number and may need to complete a patient portal registration. For more on how coverage works and how platforms compare, see our Medicare telehealth coverage article and our guide to telehealth platforms.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need to have been to the doctor in person before using telehealth with Medicare?

For most general medical services, no. The main exception involves mental health telehealth, which has an associated in-person visit requirement (within a defined window and periodically thereafter). Enforcement of that requirement has been delayed repeatedly, and it can be waived when in-person care is not feasible. Confirm the current rule with your provider and at Medicare.gov.

Does Medicare cover telehealth for urgent care situations?

Medicare covers telehealth for urgent but non-emergency needs, such as infections, rashes, minor concerns, and prescription refills, when the service is telehealth-eligible and the provider is enrolled in Medicare. For true emergencies — chest pain, trouble breathing, severe bleeding, or signs of stroke — always call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room.

Will Medicare continue to cover telehealth after 2026?

Behavioral and mental health telehealth is permanent. The broader, non-behavioral flexibilities depend on temporary legislative extensions that Congress has renewed several times; there is bipartisan interest in making them permanent, but until that happens, coverage rests on periodic renewals whose deadlines can move. This is the part of Medicare telehealth most likely to change, so check Medicare.gov and the CMS website for the current status.

Does Medicare Advantage cover more telehealth than Original Medicare?

Many Medicare Advantage plans offer supplemental telehealth benefits beyond Original Medicare, which may include $0 copay virtual visits, expanded provider networks, and additional covered services. Compare plans during open enrollment to find the best telehealth coverage for your needs.

Can I use telehealth for Medicare Annual Wellness Visits?

In many cases yes, subject to the telehealth flexibilities in effect. The Annual Wellness Visit (AWV) is covered at no cost to beneficiaries and includes a health risk assessment, review of medical history, and a personalized prevention plan. Confirm current eligibility for a telehealth AWV with your provider and Medicare.gov.

Making the Most of Medicare Telehealth

Medicare telehealth coverage in 2026 gives beneficiaries meaningful access to virtual care — permanently for mental and behavioral health, and, for the moment, broadly for many other services under extensions that Congress keeps renewing. To take full advantage, confirm that your providers offer telehealth and accept Medicare, understand your cost-sharing, keep track of any mental health in-person visit requirement that applies to you, and compare Medicare Advantage plans during open enrollment if expanded telehealth is a priority. Above all, because the non-behavioral flexibilities depend on legislation that changes, verify the current rules and deadlines at Medicare.gov before you rely on them. For more on navigating virtual care, explore our telehealth guide.

Sources

• Medicare.gov — Telehealth coverage under Original Medicare
• Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) — telehealth coverage policies and the list of Medicare telehealth services
• CMS / U.S. Department of Health and Human Services — Consolidated Appropriations Act telehealth extensions and permanent behavioral-health telehealth authority
• Medicare.gov — Part B costs and the current-year deductible
• CMS — Medicare Advantage (Part C) supplemental telehealth benefits