Telehealth claims continue to fall, as eligibility wavers

The percentage of Medicare Part B patients who received a telehealth service declined to 23% in 2025 after holding steady at 25% for two years. Government turmoil and uncertainty might be responsible for the dip.

 

The following chart is based on the “Annual summary of Part B Medicare fee-for-service telehealth utilization” in the latest Medicare Telehealth Trends Report. It covers the period from Jan. 1, 2020, to Dec. 31, 2025, and shows that patients continue to use telehealth services long after COVID-19 precautions ended.

 

The 2% reduction in telehealth use might be linked to the 43-day government shutdown that began Oct. 1, 2025, and uncertainty about whether Congress would extend the waivers that allow all Medicare patients to receive telehealth services from their home. The two-year extension that will run until Dec. 31, 2027, might give utilization a boost (PBN Blog, 2/4/26).