Georgia Medicare Telehealth Services (2026)

In Georgia, Medicare covers telehealth, but the rules split in two: behavioral health telehealth is permanent, while most other virtual visits are authorized only through December 31, 2027. That single date decides whether a Georgian on Medicare can keep seeing a doctor from home after 2027 or has to travel to an approved site again. This guide explains what Georgia Medicare telehealth services cover now, what you pay, and how dual eligibles who have both Medicare and Georgia Medicaid can bring that cost down to zero; the permanent-vs-temporary coverage mechanics that apply nationwide are in our Medicare telehealth coverage guide.1

In This Guide

• Key Facts for Georgia Medicare Beneficiaries
• What Georgia Medicare Telehealth Services Cover
• Is Medicare Telehealth From Home Permanent?
• What You Pay for Georgia Medicare Telehealth
• Telehealth When You Have Both Medicare and Medicaid
• How to Use Georgia Medicare Telehealth Services
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Learn More

What Georgia Medicare Telehealth Services Cover

Georgia Medicare telehealth services fall into two groups, and the difference matters more than any billing detail. Behavioral and mental health telehealth is a permanent Medicare benefit. General telehealth, meaning virtual visits for physical health conditions, rests on a temporary flexibility that Congress has extended several times and that currently runs through December 31, 2027.1

For behavioral health, the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 permanently removed the old geographic and originating-site limits. A Georgian can receive behavioral health telehealth from home, in any part of the state, whether rural or urban. Audio-only (telephone) behavioral health telehealth is permitted, and beneficiaries may keep receiving audio-only services in their homes through December 31, 2027. Starting January 1, 2028, a practitioner may use two-way, real-time audio-only technology for behavioral health services furnished to you at home only if the practitioner is technically capable of audio-video and you are not capable of, or do not consent to, using audio-video.1

For general telehealth, the flexibility that lets you receive a virtual visit at home, anywhere in the country, is temporary and currently extended through December 31, 2027. If it lapses, most non-behavioral telehealth returns to the pre-2020 rule: you would need to be in a rural area, physically located at an approved originating site such as a clinic or hospital, not at home.1

Is Medicare Telehealth From Home Permanent?

Partly. Behavioral health telehealth from home is permanent. General telehealth from home is not; it is currently authorized only through December 31, 2027, unless Congress extends it again.1

This recurring deadline is often called the telehealth cliff. Each extension has pushed the expiration date forward, so the operative date changes over time. As of this writing the flexibilities run through December 31, 2027, which is the date to watch. Because the rules are actively changing, confirm the current status with Medicare before you rely on a home visit for physical-health care.1

One more rule sits on the same clock. Medicare normally attaches an in-person requirement to at-home behavioral health telehealth: an in-person visit within the six months before your first telehealth visit, and at least once every 12 months after. Congress has waived that in-person requirement through December 31, 2027; it takes effect only for services on or after January 1, 2028 unless waived again.1

What You Pay for Georgia Medicare Telehealth

A Medicare telehealth visit costs the same as the same visit in person. Telehealth is covered under Part B, so after you meet the annual Part B deductible, which is $283 in 2026, you generally pay 20% of the Medicare-approved amount.2 This is identical to the cost-sharing for an in-person office visit.1

Two things change that math. First, a Medicare Advantage plan may offer telehealth benefits beyond Original Medicare, including lower or waived cost-sharing, so check your plan documents.1 Second, if you also qualify for a Medicare Savings Program, Georgia Medicaid pays your Medicare cost-sharing, which can bring your telehealth cost to zero (see the next section).

Telehealth When You Have Both Medicare and Medicaid

Georgians who have both Medicare and full Georgia Medicaid are dual eligibles, and their telehealth math is different. Medicare is the primary payer for the telehealth visit, and Georgia Medicaid steps in to cover the Medicare cost-sharing.

The clearest case is the Qualified Medicare Beneficiary (QMB) program, one of Georgia's Medicare Savings Programs administered by the Division of Family and Children Services (DFCS). QMB pays your Medicare Part B premiums, deductibles, coinsurance, and copayments, plus your Part A premium if you are one of the few people who does not have premium-free Part A.3 For a Medicare-covered telehealth visit, that means QMB pays the Part B deductible and coinsurance, so a Georgian enrolled in QMB pays $0. For 2026, the federal QMB monthly income limit that applies in Georgia is $1,350 for an individual and $1,824 for a couple, with a federal resource limit of $9,950 for an individual and $14,910 for a couple. Georgia's own Medicare Savings Program FAQ still publishes a lower resource ceiling, $7,390 for one person and $11,090 for a married couple, so if your savings sit between the two numbers, confirm the current limit with DFCS and apply rather than assume you are over.3

Many Georgia dual eligibles receive their Medicare through a Dual Eligible Special Needs Plan (D-SNP), a type of Medicare Advantage plan built for people with both coverages. A D-SNP covers the same Part A and Part B benefits as any other Medicare Advantage plan, must include Medicare drug coverage, and adds care coordination and tailored benefits; you can stay enrolled only as long as you keep meeting the plan's special conditions.5 Which D-SNPs you can actually join depends on where you live, because insurers decide which counties they serve, so a plan offered in one Georgia county may not be offered in the next. Check the Medicare Plan Finder or call GeorgiaCares for the plans available at your address rather than assuming a plan a neighbor has is open to you.5 Georgia's Department of Community Health announced that, to comply with federal D-SNP integration requirements, it would place a moratorium on contracting with any new D-SNPs starting August 1, 2025, with further updates to come.5

Separately from Medicare Advantage, Georgia Medicaid delivers long-term services and supports at home through home- and community-based waivers. The Elderly & Disabled Waiver Program is the one that serves most older adults, and its two service-delivery models, the Community Care Services Program (CCSP) and SOURCE, serve frail elderly and disabled Georgians who would otherwise qualify for a nursing facility level of care. Between them they provide case management, adult day care, alternative living services, personal care, home-delivered meals, and respite for family caregivers.5

Dual eligibles get monthly Special Enrollment Periods to change coverage, but they are narrower than they sound. As of January 1, 2025, a full-benefit dual eligible can use the Integrated Care Special Enrollment Period to enroll once per month into an integrated D-SNP, effective the first of the next month, but only if you are also in the affiliated Medicaid managed care plan. Duals who are not in an aligned plan can still use the monthly Dual/Extra Help Special Enrollment Period to move to Original Medicare plus a standalone drug plan, or to switch drug plans. Neither of these Special Enrollment Periods lets you enroll in, or switch between, Medicare Advantage plans that are not D-SNPs; for those you use the regular enrollment periods.6

How to Use Georgia Medicare Telehealth Services

Learn More

Find personalized help understanding Georgia Medicare telehealth services at brevy.com.

The information on Brevy.com is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional legal, financial, or medical advice. Rules vary by state and program and change frequently. Always verify with the relevant agency or a qualified professional. Brevy is not a law firm, financial advisor, or healthcare provider.