WASHINGTON, DC, OCTOBER 1, 2025 – ATA Action, the advocacy arm of the American Telemedicine Association, today sent letters to President Trump and Congressional leaders, urging these policymakers to promptly reinstate the Medicare telehealth flexibilities and the Acute Hospital Care at Home program, and enact a retroactive telehealth reimbursement provision, ensuring that providers and hospital systems are compensated for telehealth services delivered during the government shutdown period. ATA Action also asked Congress and the Administration to consider any existing regulatory or executive authorities to maintain care continuity while awaiting formal Congressional action.
These flexibilities have been in place since 2020, during President Trump’s first administration, and this is the first time they have lapsed, creating widespread concern and disruption among providers and patients about the future of access to care.
“Most providers and hospital systems are taking calculated risks to continue care during this time, but long-term continuity depends on action by our telehealth champions in Washington to restore these flexibilities and ensure retroactive reimbursement,” said Kyle Zebley, executive director, ATA Action and senior vice president, public policy at the ATA. “Medicare patients woke up this morning without telehealth coverage for the first time since the pandemic, five years ago. Our healthcare services are regressing, falling woefully short for millions of patients in need.”
“President Trump has been the most transformative president in history for the telehealth and virtual care community, having broken down barriers and driven unprecedented adoption. No one is in a better position to end this cycle of short-term thinking and make these vital telehealth flexibilities permanent and cement his legacy of healthcare modernization and innovation,” Zebley added. “We are grateful to Congress and the Administration for their continued bipartisan leadership and historic support for telehealth. Their efforts have been instrumental in expanding access to care, and we look forward to working collaboratively to immediately reinstate these vital services to ensure millions of patients can continue to receive care where and when they need it.”
Read our letter to President Trump.
Read our letter to Senate Majority Leader Thune, Minority Leader Schumer, Speaker Johnson, and House Minority Leader Jeffries.
About ATA Action
ATA Action recognizes that telehealth and virtual care have the potential to transform the healthcare delivery system by improving patient outcomes, enhancing the safety and effectiveness of care, addressing health disparities, and reducing costs. ATA Action is a registered 501c6 entity and an affiliated trade organization of the American Telemedicine Association (ATA).