President Trump signed the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2026 on Feb. 3, 2026, and its telehealth sections extended Medicare's major telehealth flexibilities through Dec. 31, 2027, per the law and the federal Telehealth.HHS.gov policy updates. Beneficiaries can once again receive telehealth for non-behavioral care in their homes and in non-rural areas without the geographic and originating-site restrictions that would otherwise apply. For the first time since the pandemic waivers began, the runway is two years long rather than a few weeks or months.
How the extension came about
The path was rocky. The flexibilities lapsed repeatedly during 2025 as Congress fought over spending bills, and the November 2025 law ending the record-length government shutdown (H.R. 5371, signed Nov. 12, 2025) restored them only through Jan. 30, 2026, retroactively covering the lapse, per the law's Section 6208. When that window closed on Jan. 30, telehealth flexibilities lapsed again, until the Feb. 3, 2026 appropriations act extended them — with retroactive effect — through the end of 2027. CMS confirmed the restoration applies as if no gap had occurred, per provider-association summaries of CMS guidance.
What the flexibilities cover
The extended provisions let Medicare beneficiaries use telehealth for visits at home regardless of location, expand the eligible originating sites, permit a broader set of practitioners and services — including audio-only visits where allowed — and continue relaxed rules for remote patient monitoring and certain behavioral health services. Without congressional action, telehealth would revert to pre-2020 rules: mostly rural, mostly facility-based, with home as an originating site generally limited to behavioral care.
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Who is affected?
Medicare beneficiaries who rely on telehealth, particularly people with mobility limits, rural patients, and those in provider-shortage areas; clinicians who built telehealth into their practices; and Medicare Advantage plans, whose supplemental telehealth benefits follow the underlying fee-for-service rules. Providers spent the 2025 cliff period hedging on schedules and billing, and the two-year extension removes that uncertainty through 2027.
What it means for you
If you are on Medicare and use video or phone visits, the coverage you had during the pandemic is secured through Dec. 31, 2027, including care delivered to your home. Your cost-sharing for telehealth depends on your plan, so check your plan's materials or call the number on your card before a scheduled visit. Policies for your specific situation are published at Telehealth.HHS.gov and Medicare.gov, which remain the definitive references — this site is an explainer, not a coverage authority.
What happens next?
Two years is a reprieve, not a permanent settlement. Congress continues to debate which flexibilities should become permanent and how to pay for them, and the Dec. 31, 2027 date sets up the next negotiation — ideally earlier than the last cycle's shutdown brinkmanship. MedPAC and congressional committees are expected to weigh in with recommendations before then, and any interim change would come through legislation or CMS rulemaking.