House Bill Proposes Permanent Medicare Telehealth Payments for Community Health Centers

Medicare telehealth visits jumped from roughly 840,000 in 2019 to nearly 52.7 million in 2020 — a 63-fold increase in a single year.

CBO estimates making Medicare telehealth expansions permanent could cost $25 billion over 10 years, while a two-year extension alone was scored at $3.8 billion.

Congress has extended Medicare telehealth flexibilities at least 6 times since 2020, with a lapse during the 2025 government shutdown linked to a measurable drop in telehealth visits.

A peer-reviewed study of ~30 million Medicare beneficiaries found higher-telehealth areas had $164.99 more in total cost of care per beneficiary per semester and 1.63 more ambulatory care-sensitive hospitalizations per 1,000 beneficiaries than lower-telehealth areas.

Roughly 1 in 4 rural residents lack broadband access, and more than 26% of Medicare beneficiaries report no home computer or smartphone — factors that shape who can use video telehealth versus audio-only phone calls.