Medicare Telehealth Flexibilities: What Expires and What's Permanent in 2026
Permanent expansions, the December 2026 extension deadline, and the new GLP-1 Bridge demonstration. The full Medicare telehealth landscape for 2026.
The Medicare telehealth landscape in 2026 is a patchwork of temporary extensions, permanent expansions, and new demonstration programs — the result of COVID-era flexibility waivers meeting a political environment that can't agree on what to make permanent. Here's the current state, what expires when, and what patients can actually rely on.
What's permanent (the good news)
Several telehealth expansions from COVID-era waivers have been made permanent by Congress:
- Originating site: Medicare patients can now receive telehealth from their home, not just from a healthcare facility — permanently expanded
- Mental health: teletherapy and telepsychiatry from home are permanent, with an initial in-person visit requirement for ongoing mental health care
- Federally Qualified Health Centers: can now serve as distant sites for telehealth permanently
Several COVID-era telehealth flexibilities are still running on a temporary extension passed as part of fiscal legislation. Audio-only telehealth for Part B services, hospital-at-home expansions, and certain RPM flexibilities are on extension. Congress has repeatedly renewed these at the last minute — the December 2026 deadline has not yet been addressed as of mid-2026.
The new GLP-1 Bridge (July 1, 2026)
A separate CMS demonstration program — the GLP-1 Bridge — launched July 1, 2026, providing Part D coverage for GLP-1 obesity treatment through December 2027. This is specifically for obesity indication (Wegovy, Zepbound at obesity doses) and explicitly excludes compounded medications. See our dedicated Medicare GLP-1 Bridge guide for eligibility and cost-sharing details.
For Medicare patients navigating telehealth options
Sesame Care specifically operates a Medicare-friendly visit structure — licensed providers who accept Medicare for covered services. The GLP-1 Bridge's demonstration coverage requires prescriptions from licensed Medicare providers, which telehealth platforms can fulfill if they participate in Medicare.
Verified telehealth providers
Medicare-compatible telehealth visits. FDA-approved medications.
Paid link Get started →Telehealth with Medicare-eligible provider network.
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