Hospice to 'Optimize' Telehealth Amid Regulatory Uncertainties

Calls are growing louder to make permanent regulatory flexibilities for telehealth.

Pandemic-related telehealth waivers temporarily instituted by the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) during the public health emergency have been extended several times. Currently they are set to expire on Sept 30. If they end as planned, hospice providers, as well as patients and families, could face potentially detrimental impacts, according to several hospice leaders.

The ability to develop and provide a sustainable model of virtual care for patients and caregivers will require a more permanent regulatory framework around telehealth utilization, Dr. Julia Frydman, senior medical director at Thyme Care, said at the Hospice News ELEVATE conference in Florida.

“We need to be making increasing investments in understanding how these care models work, and it is going to require permanent extensions to really understand who is appropriate for telemedicine and who really needs that in-person visit,” Frydman told Hospice News at the conference.

The most recent extension came last month with the Full-Year Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act 2025. The law allows for continuation of several public health, Medicare and Medicaid authorities and programs. The continuing resolution preserved the flexibility allowing hospices to perform face-to-face recertifications through telehealth.

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