The State of Telehealth Services for Psychiatry

Last Updated 10/1/2025: With the current government shutdown, extended Medicare coverage for telehealth visits has officially lapsed. The state of healthcare legislation is a rapidly changing and deeply contested issue. Future funding agreements may restore this coverage. We will do our best to keep this article up-to-date with the latest information.

As we reckon with the “telehealth cliff” of September 30, 2025, the expansion of Medicare coverage for telehealth visits that was implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic is set to expire – including the waiver for in-person visit requirements. If Medicare patients do not meet the location-based requirements, their coverage will instead hinge on meeting the in-person visit requirements.

Without congressional action, Medicare patients also lose access to audio-only visits for non-behavioral health, home-based coverage, and expanded provider eligibility, coverage which has previously been extended multiple times over the last five years. These policy rollbacks will especially impact populations already facing inequities, as older adults and low-income households continue to struggle with the digital divide, language barriers, and a lack of privacy at home.

Our recent whitepaper explores these policy issues and the evolving landscape of telehealth services in the United States, especially for psychiatry and behavioral health, also examining how telehealth has enabled healthcare delivery beyond traditional office settings.