What Telehealth Services Are Covered by Medicare?
Key takeaways:
Telehealth allows people to connect with healthcare professionals via a computer, tablet, or phone.
Original Medicare and Medicare Advantage plans cover telehealth services.
Medicare coverage of telehealth services was expanded during the COVID-19 pandemic. Some changes are permanent, while other will remain until at least September 30, 2025.
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Medicare provides health insurance to more than 68 million people, the majority of which are age 65 and older. During the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE), many of these people stayed connected to their healthcare professionals with the help of telehealth. That was important because older adults have a higher risk of serious illness or death from a COVID infection.
Before the pandemic, telehealth coverage was primarily limited to Medicare enrollees in rural areas, those seeing certain healthcare professionals, and those with certain medical conditions. The care had to be accessed at certain sites, such as at a rural health clinic via an on-camera appointment with a specialist. When COVID hit, telehealth coverage was expanded, giving all enrollees the option to access covered services from home, with or without live video.
During the first year of the pandemic, telehealth use by original Medicare enrollees increased 63-fold — from about 840,000 visits in 2019 to nearly 53 million in 2020, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). This happened, in part, because the PHE declared in January 2020 allowed more flexibility for healthcare professionals and consumers. Some of the measures put in place during that time have been made permanent, and most will remain until at least September 30, 2025.
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While telehealth use by original Medicare enrollees has fallen since the first year of the pandemic, it’s still higher than pre-pandemic levels. According to an analysis of Part B claims by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, 7% of enrollees used telehealth services in the first quarter of 2020, followed by a jump to nearly 50% in the second quarter. In the second quarter of 2023, 13% of enrollees — about 2.8 million people — were using telehealth services. New data shows that 24% of original Medicare enrollees had at least one telehealth service in 2023.
What is telehealth?
Telehealth allows people to connect with healthcare professionals via a computer, tablet, or phone.
Medicare Part B (medical insurance) covers three types of telehealth services:
Telehealth visits: Telehealth visits are designed to replace in-person office appointments, hospital visits, psychotherapy appointments, consultations, and other services. In some cases, the visits are audio-only, while others involve video.
Virtual check-ins: Virtual check-ins allow you to briefly talk to your healthcare professional over the phone or through secure text messages, email, or a patient portal. In a prior encounter, you must verbally consent to virtual check-ins. This consent must be documented in your medical records and will allow up to a year of virtual visits to be covered. The communication can not be related to a medical visit that occurred during the previous 7 days or lead to a visit within the following 24 hours.
E-visits: An e-visit is when an “established patient” talks to their healthcare professional through an online patient portal. You must ask your healthcare professional about starting e-visits for them to be covered. You can have e-visits with doctors, nurse practitioners, clinical nurse specialists, and physician assistants. Under certain circumstances, you also may have covered e-visits with licensed clinical social workers and clinical psychologists.
Medicare Advantage plans match original Medicare benefits, but they may offer more extensive telehealth services than original Medicare.
What telehealth services are covered for Medicare beneficiaries?
Some telehealth services that Medicare covers include:
Wellness visits
Urgent care
Office visits
Consultations
Prescriptions for medications
Preventive health screenings
Mental health counseling
Substance use disorder treatment
Monthly end-stage renal disease visits for home dialysis
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How much of the costs of telehealth does Medicare cover?
If you have original Medicare, telehealth services are covered under Medicare Part B. You typically pay 20% of the Medicare-approved amount for services after you meet your annual Part B deductible. In 2025, the Part B deductible is $257.
If you have a Medicare Advantage plan, check with your insurance provider for details about your coverage and out-of-pocket costs.
Post-pandemic telehealth coverage
As mentioned, Medicare coverage for telehealth was expanded during the COVID PHE. Now that the PHE has ended, some of the expansion measures have been made permanent, while others are still potentially temporary.
The permanent changes include:
Federally qualified health centers (FQHCs) and rural health clinics (RHCs) can provide behavioral and mental health telehealth services.
Enrollees can receive behavioral and mental health telehealth services from anywhere, including from home.
Behavioral and mental health telehealth services do not have to be delivered over video.
Rural emergency hospitals can provide telehealth services.
Changes that are potentially temporary include:
All Medicare-approved healthcare professionals can deliver telehealth services.
FQHCs and RHCs can offer many telehealth services, not just behavioral and mental healthcare.
Enrollees can receive a variety of covered telehealth services, not just behavioral and mental health services, from anywhere.
A variety of telehealth services can be delivered without video.
An in-person visit within 6 months of an initial behavioral or mental health telehealth service (and every year thereafter) is not required.
What else should I know about Medicare coverage for telehealth?
Telehealth services may be available from locations other than your home. For instance, a telehealth visit with your nephrologist while you are at a renal dialysis facility may be covered by Medicare. You can also access covered telehealth services on audio-only devices, such as via a phone call.
Do Medigap plans cover costs related to telehealth?
There are a few different kinds of Medicare supplement plans that can help cover out-of-pocket costs for telehealth visits for people who have original Medicare:
Medigap: Medicare supplement insurance that’s sold by private insurance companies
Retiree insurance: Group plans provided by former employers or unions
Medicaid: Another type of government-sponsored insurance that can be used to cover Medicare deductibles, copays, and coinsurance related to telehealth services
How do I find telehealth providers covered by Medicare?
There are a few ways to find healthcare professionals who provide telehealth services that are covered by Medicare:
Ask your current care team members if they offer telehealth options.
Use Medicare’s care compare tool to search for telehealth providers by specialty, practice name, or location.
Contact 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227) or your Medicare Advantage plan for help finding telehealth providers or networks, such as those available through apps.
Use the HHS’ health center finder to locate a telehealth provider in your area.
The bottom line
Telehealth provides an alternative way for Medicare and Medicare Advantage enrollees to receive care via a phone, computer, or tablet. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Medicare paid for telehealth services on a limited basis. But telehealth coverage was expanded during the pandemic, thanks in part to changes related to the COVID public health emergency (PHE). Some of these measures have been made permanent, while others are scheduled to last until at least September 30, 2025.
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References
Bipartisan Policy Center. (2023). Medicare telehealth spending estimator.
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Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. (2023). Medicare telehealth trends report.
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Medicare.gov. (n.d.). Costs.
Medicare.gov. (n.d.). E-visits.
Medicare.gov. (n.d.). Find & compare providers near you.
Medicare.gov. (n.d.). Retiree insurance & Medicare.
Medicare.gov. (n.d.). Telehealth.
Medicare.gov. (n.d.). Virtual check-ins.
Samson, L. W., et al. (2021). Medicare beneficiaries’ use of telehealth in 2020: Trends by beneficiary characteristics and location. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Rural Health Information Hub. (2025). Federally qualified health centers (FQHCs) and the health center program – resources.
Rural Health Information Hub. (2025). Rural health clinics (RHCs).
Telehealth.HHS.gov. (n.d.). How do I schedule a telehealth appointment?
Telehealth.HHS.gov. (n.d.). Telehealth policy updates.
Telehealth.HHS.gov. (n.d.). Telehealth trends.
Telehealth.HHS.gov. (2024). Why use telehealth?
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (n.d.). Find a health center.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2025). Telehealth policy updates.
