In light of the impending expiration of the Medicare telehealth waiver on January 30, the American Medical Association (AMA) released a pivotal issue brief (PDF) urging Congress to enact permanent authorization of Medicare telehealth services and end the repeated cycle of temporary extensions that have undermined reliable access to virtual care.
“Since the COVID-19 public health emergency, Congress has repeatedly extended telehealth flexibilities for Medicare patients—often at the last moment—creating uncertainty for millions of patients and their physicians,” said AMA President Bobby Mukkamala, M.D. “As the current waiver deadline approaches, Congress must finally act decisively to prevent a disruptive and abrupt halt to the expanded telehealth services that have improved care continuity, chronic disease management, and access for rural and underserved communities.”
The expiration of Medicare telehealth flexibilities during the recent government shutdown sharply reduced access to care. According to a Brown University review of electronic medical record data, fee-for-service telemedicine visits dropped 24% nationally during the first 17 days of the shutdown. Several states saw declines approaching or exceeding 40%, highlighting the sensitivity of access to policy disruptions.
The newly released AMA issue brief advocates for a comprehensive approach to evaluating the value of telehealth—one that goes beyond short-term cost modeling and considers the broader, enduring impact of virtual care. While current Congressional Budget Office (CBO) scoring is based heavily on historical data and limited assumptions about future utilization and costs, the AMA calls for a more robust analysis. This means factoring in long-term savings generated by early intervention, improved chronic disease management, and reduced use of costly emergency and inpatient services—factors that are not reflected in current cost estimates.
Empirical evidence from the issue brief demonstrates that telehealth can be an effective substitute for in-person care, driving higher appointment completion rates, lowering hospital readmissions, and producing significant systemic efficiencies that traditional models miss. This data-driven perspective, if incorporated in CBO scoring, can yield more reliable estimates and guide sustainable policy reforms.
The AMA urges Congress to work closely with CBO, leveraging the latest real-world data and peer-reviewed research to achieve an accurate budgetary score for permanent Medicare telehealth legislation. Now is the time for lawmakers to secure innovation, modernize care delivery, and protect access to telehealth for all Medicare beneficiaries by passing comprehensive, forward-looking reform.
About the American Medical Association
The American Medical Association is the physicians’ powerful ally in patient care. As the only medical association that convenes 190+ state and specialty medical societies and other critical stakeholders, the AMA represents physicians with a unified voice to all key players in health care. The AMA leverages its strength by removing the obstacles that interfere with patient care, leading the charge to prevent chronic disease and confront public health crises and, driving the future of medicine to tackle the biggest challenges in health care.
