What was set to expire on January 30th, 2026 has been pushed to December 31, 2027.
The “temporary status” for therapy professionals to provide telehealth is becoming “not-so-temporary,” and will hit the 7-year mark when it expires again in 2027.
How Do We Know Telehealth for Therapy Professionals Was Extended?
Whitehouse.gov indicates the Bill H.R. 7148 was signed into Law on February 3rd.
How Do We Know that Telehealth for Therapists Was Included In H.R. 7148?
HERE is a link to the Bill (PDF Copy), with pages listed below to reference.
Page 476 of 567 in the PDF above entitled “Section 6209, Extension of Certain Telehealth Flexibilities,” holds the language that pertains to “expanding practitioners eligible to furnish telehealth services,” highlighted below.
This language has been used since the initial Public Health Emergency (PHE) Waiver for COVID-19 in 2020 and adds PT, OT and Speech to the “approved telehealth provider list.” It’s important to remember that therapy professionals were “not on that list” prior to the PHE, and are only “on the list now” because of the language passed down in each of these laws extending the PHE temporary rules.
This can be found on page 476:
The important part of (b) above shows that only the “ending date” was changed. This indicates that all the initial elements that were part of the telehealth rules for therapists are still intact, with a change in the expiration date only. In other words, same rules apply.
Approved Practitioners: Then & Now
The “original” approved telehealth practitioners are outlined in the Social Security Act (SSA), where the foundational regulations are located for Medicare Part A (Hospital Insurance Benefits) and Medicare Part B.
If you look at Section 1395u(b)(18)(C), you will see the list of “approved telehealth providers” under Medicare/Medicaid.
Notice that therapy professionals are not on that list! It is only the amendments since the PHE that have “temporarily added therapists to the approved provider list.”
The amendment to practitioners looks like this:
The term “practitioner” has the meaning given that term in Section 1395u(b)(18)(C) of this title and, in the case that the emergency period described in section 1320b-5(g)(1)(B) of this title ends before December 31, 2024, for the period beginning on the first day after the end of such emergency period and ending on September 30, 2025, shall include a qualified occupational therapist (as such term is used in section 1395x(g) of this title), a qualified physical therapist (as such term is used in section 1395x(p) of this title), a qualified speech-language pathologist (as defined in section 1395x(II)(4)(A) of this title), and a qualified audiologist (as defined in section 1395x(II)(4)(B) of this title).
The Section above continues to override the Social Security Act original list of approved telehealth practitioners for Medicare Part B, adding PT, OT and Speech. Every telehealth extension since 2020 added therapy professionals to the original list….on a temporary basis.
As always, your State Therapy Practice Act will ultimately determine if your discipline is authorized to provide telehealth services, and if not, this will override Medicare’s approval.
Resources
CMS released a FAQ Document today to help address common telehealth questions.
Take a look at H.R. 7148. Navigate the Telehealth section under Medicare.
Navigate Title XVIII of the Social Security Act where all Medicare Part A, Part B and Medicare Advantage rules live.
As always, if you have any questions about the information or how it will impact you, send them to us here: Just Ask Q&A
In Your Corner,
Dolores Montero, PT, DPT, RAC-CT, RAC-CTA
SNF Therapy & MDS Resource Team
MonteroTherapyServices.com