Doctors Push Back Against Looming Loss of Medicare Telehealth for Millions – Newsweek

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Suzanne Blake is a Newsweek reporter based in New York. Her focus is reporting on consumer and social trends, spanning from retail to restaurants and beyond. She is a graduate of UNC Chapel Hill and joined Newsweek in 2023. You can get in touch with Suzanne by emailing s.blake@newsweek.com. Languages: English

Suzanne Blake

Reporter, Consumer & Social Trends

The impending loss of telehealth coverage for millions of Medicare recipients has sparked heavy backlash among doctors and patients alike, as a new Change.org petition calls for reinstatement of the coverage after its scheduled expiration date of March 31.

Why It Matters

More than 66 million Americans rely on Medicare for health coverage each year. That includes many rural patients who depend on telehealth, which became increasingly popular during the coronavirus pandemic.

What To Know

Robert Hoyer, a Colorado-based doctor specializing in cancer, started a petition to stop Medicare from limiting home telehealth coverage on April 1.

“For patients living with a cancer diagnosis or chronic conditions, telehealth provides an important link to their care team. Telehealth also helps alleviate costly travel to medical appointments, time off work, and child care expenses,” Hoyer wrote in his Change.org petition.

“Therefore, we ask that Medicare extend its coverage for home telehealth visits beyond April 1 2025. This measure would not only ensure that rural and homebound patients continue receiving the care they need but would also greatly contribute to alleviating healthcare disparities across rural America. Stand with us in the fight against insufficient healthcare access.”

At the time of publication, the petition had accumulated more than 21,000 signatures. Lawmakers have also called to prevent the remote coverage from expiring in April. Democratic Representative Ro Khanna of California introduced the Telehealth Coverage Act to continue the services under Medicare coverage.

“Why are we taking telehealth away from millions of seniors who are homebound or who have difficulty leaving their homes?” Khanna said in a statement. “It is most devastating for rural Americans.”

Under President Donald Trump‘s first administration, Medicare telehealth was initially expanded to allow coverage during the pandemic, when virtual visits became increasingly common.

This continued under Joe Biden‘s presidency, when the American Relief Act, 2025 was passed. This expanded originating sites for telehealth services and delayed in-person requirements under Medicare for mental health services.

Under the changes in effect April 1, Medicare patients must visit a medical office or facility for most types of care. But virtual services for those with home dialysis for end-stage renal disease, acute strokes or mental and behavioral health disorders will still be available under the current coverage.

What People Are Saying

Chris Fong, CEO of Smile Insurance and a Medicare specialist, told Newsweek: “For Medicare beneficiaries, particularly those in rural areas or with mobility challenges, telehealth has been a game-changer. It allows patients to see their doctors without long travel times, reducing barriers to timely care. For many seniors managing chronic conditions, virtual visits mean faster interventions, fewer hospitalizations, and better overall health outcomes. Expanding telehealth could also help ease the burden on in-person healthcare facilities, reducing wait times for those who need physical appointments.”

Alex Beene, financial literacy instructor for the University of Tennessee, told Newsweek: “There’s a valid reason why there are so many concerns about Medicare’s provisions for telehealth expiring at the end of March. Coverage born out of the pandemic era proved to be a reliable way of reaching many patients in rural areas who have seen their local medical facilities shuttered in recent years. The ability to meet these patients where they are has been a game-changer, both for themselves and the medical personnel serving them. Letting this coverage expire is going to be a major setback for all parties and especially difficult for patients who now may have to drive many miles and hours just to receive care because a telehealth option is no longer available.”

What Happens Next

Starting April 1, patients covered by Medicare will have to find a medical office or facility for care they once received through telehealth unless they qualify for the excluded services.