Medicare Telehealth Extension: What’s Covered in 2026

Before 2020, Medicare covered telehealth only in rural areas and only when patients traveled to an approved medical facility to connect with a remote provider. The pandemic changed everything. Congress temporarily expanded Medicare telehealth extension rules to let beneficiaries receive virtual care from home, and those expansions have been renewed repeatedly since. As of 2026, most of the pandemic-era flexibilities remain in place — Medicare.gov currently states that “through December 31, 2027, Medicare covers telehealth services that you can get from anywhere in the U.S., including your home” — though their long-term future still depends on congressional action. For roughly 68 million Americans on Medicare, these rules determine whether a video call with a doctor is covered or whether they must drive to a clinic. For a broader look at how virtual care works across all payers, our telehealth guide covers the fundamentals, and our healthcare policy guide tracks the legislative side.

What the Medicare Telehealth Extension Actually Covers

Under the current extension, Medicare Part B covers a long list of telehealth services that were previously in-person only. The most commonly used include:

• Office visits with primary care physicians and specialists
• Mental health services, including individual therapy, group therapy, and psychiatry
• Chronic care management visits for diabetes, hypertension, COPD, heart failure, and kidney disease
• Annual wellness visits (the “Welcome to Medicare” visit and subsequent yearly wellness exams)
• Substance use disorder treatment and counseling
• Physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech-language pathology services
• Certain emergency department evaluations (when performed by an ED physician)
• End-stage renal disease (ESRD) related services
• Transitional care management visits following hospital discharge

Telehealth use among Medicare beneficiaries surged during the pandemic — from well under 1% of enrollees in 2019 to a peak in the tens of millions of visits — and although utilization has settled below its 2020 high, it remains far above pre-pandemic levels, according to CMS and independent analyses such as those from KFF. CMS considers continued telehealth access important for beneficiaries with mobility limitations, chronic conditions requiring frequent follow-ups, and those living in areas with provider shortages.

The breadth of covered services goes far beyond what most beneficiaries realize. Many assume Medicare telehealth is limited to basic urgent care, but the list includes specialty consultations, complex care management, and rehabilitation services. As a rough rule of thumb: if a service can be done in a doctor’s office and does not require physical contact, imaging, or a lab draw, it is likely deliverable by telehealth under the current rules. Exact coverage for any specific service can change year to year, so confirming with your provider’s billing office is always worthwhile.

Key Rule Changes Under the Extension

Several pandemic-era flexibilities remain active under the current extension. Understanding them helps you know what is available now and what could change if Congress does not renew them again.

Home as an originating site: Before COVID, Medicare required patients to be at an approved healthcare facility (such as a rural health clinic or hospital outpatient department) to receive telehealth. Under the extension, your home qualifies as an “originating site.” This is the single most impactful change, because it removed the biggest barrier to telehealth for seniors: beneficiaries no longer need to drive anywhere to access a virtual visit.

Geographic restrictions suspended: The pre-pandemic rule limiting telehealth to rural areas designated as Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSAs) is suspended. Beneficiaries in urban, suburban, and rural areas all have equal access to Medicare telehealth services under the current window. This matters enormously for the large majority of Medicare beneficiaries who live in urban and suburban areas that were previously excluded.

Audio-only visits permitted: Medicare currently covers certain services delivered by phone (audio-only) when a beneficiary cannot use, or chooses not to use, video technology. This is particularly important for older adults who may lack smartphones, tablets, or reliable broadband. According to the Pew Research Center, a meaningful share of adults over 65 still do not use the internet, which makes video-based telehealth impractical for them. Audio-only coverage helps ensure these beneficiaries are not left behind. For mental health specifically, audio-only access has been made permanent.

Expanded provider types: Under the extension, a broader range of providers can deliver telehealth services, including physical therapists, occupational therapists, speech-language pathologists, and clinical psychologists. Before the pandemic, many of these provider types were not eligible to bill Medicare for telehealth.

Mental health telehealth made permanent: Congress made Medicare coverage of mental health and behavioral telehealth — including from the home and including audio-only — a permanent benefit. This is the most important structural change in the whole picture: even if the other flexibilities were to lapse, mental health telehealth would continue. There is an in-person visit requirement written into the law (an initial in-person visit and periodic follow-up), but Congress has repeatedly delayed its start date, and it is not in effect during the current flexibility window. Because that delay has been extended more than once, confirm the current requirement with your provider or at Medicare.gov.

How Much Does Medicare Telehealth Cost?

Medicare covers telehealth visits at the same rate as in-person visits. This is an important point: there is no discount or penalty for choosing telehealth over an office visit. For beneficiaries on Original Medicare (Parts A and B), this means:

You pay 20% of the Medicare-approved amount after meeting your Part B deductible, which is $283 in 2026 (up from $257 in 2025). The standard Part B premium is $202.90 per month in 2026, higher for beneficiaries with higher incomes. For a standard office visit billed at $100 to $150, your coinsurance would be roughly $20 to $30. For a specialist consultation billed at $150 to $250, your share would be about $30 to $50. If you have a Medigap (Medicare Supplement) plan, your supplemental insurance may cover part or all of this coinsurance, potentially reducing your out-of-pocket cost to $0. These figures are illustrative; your actual amount depends on the billed service and your coverage.

Medicare Advantage (Part C) members may have different cost-sharing, often $0 to $20 copays for telehealth visits, depending on their plan. Many MA plans have added enhanced telehealth benefits to attract enrollees, including 24/7 virtual urgent care through platforms like Teladoc or MDLIVE at a $0 copay on some plans. These supplemental telehealth benefits go beyond what Original Medicare covers and can be a genuine advantage of MA plans for beneficiaries comfortable with the technology.

For beneficiaries managing multiple chronic conditions who see several specialists, understanding how costs accumulate matters. Our guide to healthcare costs provides context on how Medicare cost-sharing compares to other coverage types and strategies for managing out-of-pocket spending.

How to Access Medicare Telehealth

Through Your Existing Provider

The simplest path is asking your current doctor whether they offer telehealth visits. Many primary care physicians, specialists, and therapists adopted video visit technology during the pandemic and continue to offer it. Your provider’s patient portal (often MyChart, athenahealth, or a similar system) typically includes a telehealth scheduling option. The advantage of this approach is continuity: your doctor already knows your medical history, medications, and treatment plan.

Through Medicare Advantage Plan Platforms

If you are on a Medicare Advantage plan, check your plan’s app or website for built-in telehealth services. Major MA carriers such as UnitedHealthcare, Humana, Aetna, and Cigna offer 24/7 virtual urgent care through their own platforms, at a $0 copay on many plans. These platforms connect you with on-demand providers for acute issues like respiratory infections, urinary tract infections, and rashes, which is especially valuable for evening and weekend needs.

Through Independent Telehealth Platforms

Platforms like Teladoc and MDLIVE accept Medicare for certain services. Verify that the platform and the specific provider accept Medicare before scheduling, because not all providers on these platforms are enrolled with Medicare. Some platforms have dedicated Medicare enrollment flows that confirm your eligibility and connect you with Medicare-participating providers.

Through Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs)

FQHCs and Rural Health Clinics (RHCs) have expanded telehealth access for Medicare beneficiaries. If you receive care at a community health center, ask about their telehealth offerings. These facilities serve disproportionately underserved populations and have been at the forefront of telehealth adoption.

What Could Change After the Extension Expires

Most Medicare telehealth flexibilities are still not permanent. If Congress does not act before the current window closes (December 31, 2027 as of this writing), several changes would take effect that would sharply reduce telehealth access for beneficiaries:

The home-as-originating-site flexibility would end, requiring patients to travel to approved healthcare facilities for most telehealth. Geographic restrictions would return, limiting telehealth to designated rural areas. Audio-only coverage for most non-behavioral services would end, excluding beneficiaries without video technology. The list of covered telehealth services would shrink back toward its narrower pre-pandemic scope. And certain provider types (physical therapists, occupational therapists) would again lose the ability to bill Medicare for telehealth. The one major exception is mental health telehealth, which is permanent and would continue regardless.

The practical impact of a lapse would be severe. Millions of urban and suburban Medicare beneficiaries who now conduct routine follow-up visits from home would need to travel to doctors’ offices for every appointment. Seniors with mobility limitations, those who rely on caregivers for transportation, and beneficiaries in nursing facilities would face reduced access to specialist care.

Bipartisan support for making these changes permanent is strong, and multiple bills have been introduced in both chambers of Congress. The CONNECT for Health Act and the Telehealth Modernization Act both aim to permanently eliminate geographic and originating-site restrictions. However, budget-scoring concerns (CMS estimates that expanded access increases utilization and therefore cost) and competing legislative priorities have kept Congress renewing the policy in short increments rather than passing a permanent fix. Advocacy organizations including the American Medical Association, AARP, and the American Hospital Association have all urged permanent telehealth access for Medicare. Because the pattern has been repeated short-term extensions, the safest assumption is that the exact deadline may move again — so check Medicare.gov for the current date rather than relying on any single article.

Medicare Telehealth for Mental Health

Mental health is where Medicare telehealth has arguably had its greatest impact, and it is also where coverage is most secure. Depression affects millions of older adults, yet many lack access to in-person mental health providers. A large share of U.S. counties have no practicing psychiatrist, and wait times for a new-patient appointment can stretch for months in underserved areas. Telehealth has opened access for people who previously went without care.

Congress made mental health telehealth a permanent Medicare benefit, which means it will not disappear even if the other telehealth flexibilities expire. The permanent benefit includes coverage from the home and audio-only visits, both important for older adults. As noted above, the law includes an in-person visit requirement, but its start date has been delayed repeatedly and is not currently in effect — a point worth confirming with your clinician, since the timing has shifted more than once.

Medicare covers a wide range of mental health telehealth services: individual psychotherapy, group therapy, psychiatric diagnostic evaluations, medication management, and substance use disorder counseling. The 20% coinsurance applies after the Part B deductible, though many Medigap and MA plans reduce or eliminate this cost.

If you are a Medicare beneficiary experiencing depression, anxiety, grief, or another mental health concern, telehealth therapy is a covered benefit you can access from home. If you are ever in crisis or thinking about harming yourself, call or text 988 (the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline) or call 911.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Original Medicare cover telehealth in 2026?

Yes. Under the current telehealth extension, Original Medicare (Part B) covers a broad set of telehealth services, including office visits, mental health care, chronic disease management, and wellness visits. You pay 20% of the approved amount after your 2026 Part B deductible of $283. Medicare.gov currently lists these from-home flexibilities as running through December 31, 2027.

Can I do a Medicare telehealth visit from home?

Yes, under the current extension. Your home is an approved originating site for Medicare telehealth through the current window, and mental health telehealth from home has been made permanent. Because the deadline for non-behavioral services has been extended several times, confirm the current status at Medicare.gov.

Does Medicare cover phone-only doctor visits?

Yes. Medicare currently covers audio-only (phone) visits for certain services, including mental health care and some evaluation and management visits. This is especially important for beneficiaries without video technology or reliable internet. Audio-only coverage for mental health is permanent; for other services it is part of the temporary extension and would require further congressional action to continue past the current deadline.

Will Medicare telehealth become permanent?

Mental health telehealth is already permanent under legislation passed earlier in the decade. Other flexibilities — the home originating site, geographic waivers, expanded practitioner types, and broad audio-only coverage — are extended through December 31, 2027 as of this writing and would require additional congressional action to become permanent. Multiple bipartisan bills have been introduced but not yet enacted. Many policy experts expect eventual permanent extension, but the timeline remains uncertain.

Does my Medicare Advantage plan have better telehealth benefits?

Many Medicare Advantage plans offer enhanced telehealth benefits beyond what Original Medicare covers, including $0-copay virtual urgent care, 24/7 on-demand access, and partnerships with major telehealth platforms. Check your plan’s Evidence of Coverage document to understand your specific telehealth benefits and any network requirements.

What to Do Next

If you are a Medicare beneficiary, do not wait until you are sick to set up telehealth access. Ask your primary care doctor and specialists whether they offer video visits. If you are on a Medicare Advantage plan, explore your plan’s virtual care platform and verify your copay. Set up any required accounts and test the technology before you need it — making sure your camera, microphone, and internet connection work saves frustration during an actual visit. And keep the current expiration date in mind: because the flexibilities have been renewed in short increments, it is worth checking Medicare.gov once or twice a year.

If your elected representatives have not heard from you on the telehealth extension, consider contacting them. Permanent access to home-based telehealth for Medicare beneficiaries is widely supported by both parties and the medical community, but it needs legislative action to become reality. AARP and other groups provide easy-to-use tools for contacting Congress on healthcare issues.

Medical and coverage disclaimer: This article is general educational information about Medicare policy as of 2026 and is not medical, legal, or insurance advice. Coverage rules, deductibles, and expiration dates change, sometimes on short notice. Verify your specific benefits with Medicare (1-800-MEDICARE), your plan, or Medicare.gov before making decisions, and consult a qualified clinician for medical concerns. In an emergency, call 911.

Sources

• Medicare.gov — Telehealth coverage
• Medicare.gov — Medicare costs (2026 Part B deductible of $283 and standard premium of $202.90)
• Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) — Telehealth policy and updated FAQ
• Telehealth.HHS.gov — Medicare payment policies after the COVID-19 public health emergency
• KFF (Kaiser Family Foundation) — Medicare and telehealth policy tracking
• Congress.gov — CONNECT for Health Act and related telehealth legislation