The government shutdown telehealth impact is already rippling through the U.S. health system. Patients, especially Medicare recipients, are losing access to the telemedicine they’ve relied on for years. Home care programs are shaken, funding is stalled, and continuity of care is at risk.

In this blog, we dive into what’s broken, what might break next, and what patients and providers should know now.

What Triggers the Telehealth Rollback

When Congress fails to extend temporary telehealth laws, the system resets to “pre-COVID” rules.
Those pandemic-era flexibilities were tied to legislative support, not permanent law.
On October 1, 2025, those rules expired.

Key reversions

• Medicare telehealth is again limited to rural areas.
• Patients can no longer have telehealth from their homes. 
• Audio-only telehealth (except behavioral health) is no longer reimbursed.
• The “Hospital at Home” (acute care at home) waiver ends.
• Expanded provider types lose telehealth authorization.

These reversals mean many telehealth visits are now non-reimbursable or require in-person care.

Medicare & Medicaid: What’s Still Protected?

Not all telehealth stops altogether. Essential programs carry on.

• Original Medicare (mandatory programs) continues, but with stripped-down telehealth.
• Behavioral health & substance abuse telehealth may still be covered under a separate law.
• ACOs, under certain rules, can still offer some telehealth without geographic limits.
• Medicaid funding is often protected for core operations, so existing Medicaid telehealth may remain intact depending on state rules. 
• Claims hold: CMS is placing a 10-business-day hold on many claims to prevent double processing if Congress restores funding.

Because of those holds, providers may delay paying out until the shutdown ends.

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Disruptions in Home Health & In-Home Care

The shutdown doesn’t just affect video visits. The impact of the shutdown on home healthcare programs is severe.

Medicare’s “Hospital at Home” program allowed patients to get hospital-level care at home. That waiver expired.
As of October 1, many providers are canceling bookings for in-home care services.
Some hospitals warned patients that at-home treatments must shift back to inpatient settings. 

Home health aides, visiting nurses, and durable medical equipment programs may see funding delays or operational cuts if they rely on federal support. For patients with mobility issues or chronic illness, this threatens continuity of care.

Effects on Patients: Real Lives, Real Risks

For many, telehealth was a lifeline. The healthcare service interruptions during the government shutdown mean:

• Seniors, disabled, and rural patients lose remote access to doctors.
• Chronic condition monitoring, follow-ups, and specialist consults have drastically.
• Missed early interventions lead to deteriorations, hospitalizations, and higher costs.
• Some broadband-poor areas already struggle; now they lose even modest access.
• Patients may need to pay out-of-pocket if providers deliver telehealth anyway, or switch to in-person visits they physically can’t manage.

In rural or underserved regions, telemedicine brought clinics to homes. Now those communities may be cut off again.

Funding Failures & Submission Delays

A key driver of disruption: federal funding delays for telehealth services and bureaucratic hold-ups.

Medicare claims tied to expired waivers are being held for up to 10 business days. Providers may suspend or decline telehealth services rather than risk nonpayment.
Some practices are urging patients to switch to in-person visits or signal noncoverage via an Advance Beneficiary Notice (ABN). Delayed reimbursements could strain small clinics financially, risking shutdowns or layoffs.

Why This Matters Under Medicare

The shutdown is not “just politics.” It’s disrupting patient care in real time under Medicare disrupts telehealth programs. About 4 million Medicare beneficiaries used telehealth services in the first half of 2025.
Hospitals that participated in hospital-at-home served tens of thousands. Now many of those same services are being withdrawn. Medicare policy often sets the tone for private insurers. If telehealth shrinks here, private plans may follow. Also, providers might group telehealth as “noncore,” making it voluntary rather than standard.

What Patients & Providers Should Do Now

When patient care continuity during a government shutdown is at stake, action is crucial.

• Providers should inform patients immediately about changes.
• Use an ABN when telehealth is no longer covered.
• Consider rescheduling or converting to in-person visits.
• Monitor policy developments, Congress might restore telehealth.
• Patients should ask their providers about appointment options and out-of-pocket risk.

Providers, be prepared: keep documentation, submit claims, but anticipate delays.

Telehealth & Home Care Disruptions Because of the Shutdown

The Medicaid Ripple Effect

The government shutdown telehealth impact doesn’t stop with Medicare. Medicaid programs are also under stress, especially those that depend on continuous federal oversight and data systems.

Many state Medicaid agencies rely on federal staff for claims processing, eligibility verification, and system maintenance. When those workers are furloughed, backlogs build fast. That means slower payment cycles, delayed approvals, and a cascade of service interruptions.

In states that expanded telehealth post-pandemic, the temporary freeze on certain matching funds is already creating uncertainty for providers. Clinics serving low-income families are scaling back remote consultations until funding stabilizes.

Examples from the field

• States like Texas and Florida report delayed reimbursements to rural telemedicine clinics.
• Several federally qualified health centers (FQHCs) have temporarily paused behavioral telehealth sessions.
• Home-based chronic-care programs that depended on remote monitoring are now suspending new enrollments.

For millions of Medicaid beneficiaries, that means fewer appointments, longer waits, and potential lapses in treatment adherence.

Digital Divide Deepens

One of the most painful side effects of this shutdown is how it widens inequality. Urban areas with multiple hospitals can absorb in-person demand. Rural and remote communities cannot.

In these regions, telemedicine had bridged the access gap, offering everything from cardiology to dermatology via video. Now, those lifelines are snapping.

The healthcare service interruptions during the government shutdown have especially hurt seniors and veterans who used virtual visits to manage chronic illnesses like diabetes or COPD. “It’s not just about technology, it’s about trust,” says a family physician in rural Arkansas. “Patients finally believed remote care worked. Now they feel abandoned.” This retraction could undo years of progress toward equitable access.

Financial Strain on Providers

The telemedicine access and funding challenges aren’t just administrative. They’re essential for smaller practices. Physicians in independent clinics, particularly those relying on telehealth volume, are reporting sharp revenue drops. Hospitals that staffed telehealth wings during COVID are now carrying idle hardware, software licenses, and staff without reimbursement to cover the cost.

The federal funding delays for telehealth services are also freezing innovation projects.
Pilot programs in AI triage, remote cardiac monitoring, and rural broadband telehealth are stalled. Hospitals may soon be forced to lay off telehealth coordinators, halt digital initiatives, and divert funds to manual operations. It’s a major step backward for a system that was finally modernizing.

Telehealth Extensions Waiting on Congress

Lawmakers were negotiating a bipartisan bill to make Medicare’s telehealth flexibilities permanent through 2026. But the government shutdown halted that progress. Until that extension passes, CMS cannot reimburse for many virtual services that depend on active funding authority. So even though providers can deliver virtual care, they often won’t get paid.

Temporary Stop-Gaps

• CMS can issue short-term emergency guidance, but not new funding.
• Some private insurers may cover telehealth voluntarily, but that’s inconsistent.
• States could opt to use Medicaid emergency reserves, though limited.

Every day the shutdown continues, more practices suspend telehealth entirely.
And every patient forced back into in-person care increases costs and risks for everyone else.

The Human Cost of Disruption

Beyond funding and policy, this is about people, isolated patients, missed follow-ups, untreated conditions.

A Cleveland Clinic study found that telehealth improved medication adherence by nearly 30 % among seniors with chronic illness. Without that consistency, relapse and hospitalization rates rise quickly. Telehealth keeps people stable at home. Losing it means sending them back into crisis.

This is where the impact of the shutdown on home healthcare programs feels most severe. Patients recovering from surgery, stroke, or heart failure often depend on coordinated remote monitoring and daily virtual nurse check-ins.
When those calls stop, deterioration follows fast.

Prime Life Financial Enrollment Reminder

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The current shutdown has exposed how fragile federal support can be. Choosing the right plan and enrolling on time is the best defense.

• Open enrollment for Medicare starts October 15. 
• ACA/Obamacare marketplace enrollment opens November 1.

 Once those windows close, options narrow sharply. Prime Life Financial guides individuals and families through plan selection to ensure continuous care coverage, including telehealth options that remain valid regardless of policy shifts.

Health Delayed Is Health Denied

Telehealth and home-care programs built bridges between doctors and patients who once had no path to care. The government shutdown has burned some of those bridges at least temporarily. Restoring them isn’t just about money; it’s about momentum. Each lost appointment, each canceled home visit, compounds human cost and system inefficiency.

If this crisis proves anything, it’s that digital healthcare deserves the same protection as hospitals and emergency rooms. Health doesn’t wait for politics to resolve, and neither should access to care.

FAQs

Is Medicare shutting down telehealth?
Not entirely. Medicare still runs core services, but most pandemic-era flexibilities — home-based telehealth, audio-only visits, expanded provider access — are paused until Congress renews them.

Did Congress pass the telehealth extension?
No. The extension was pending when the shutdown began. It will need to be reintroduced once the government reopens.

Is the government shutdown affecting Medicaid?
Yes. Medicaid state programs remain open, but administrative delays and funding freezes are slowing claims and provider reimbursements.

Will telehealth continue after March 2025?
Only if Congress renews funding or passes a permanent extension. Without that, services will remain restricted to limited rural settings.

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References

Stateline, T. H. |., & Stateline, T. H. |. (2025, October 10). Shutdown forces Medicare patients off telehealth, hospital-at-home programs. CT Mirror. https://ctmirror.org/2025/10/10/shutdown-medicare-telemedicine-telehealth/