Medicare telehealth coverage runs on two separate tracks, and which one you fall under decides whether you can be treated at home. Behavioral and mental health telehealth is a permanent benefit. The rules that let you get most other care by video from home are temporary, currently set to expire December 31, 2027. This guide lays out what is permanent, what is temporary, and what you pay under each track in 2026.
What Medicare telehealth covers, and the one split that decides everything
Medicare covers many services by telehealth, but the conditions attached to them differ sharply depending on whether the visit is for behavioral or mental health, or for any other kind of care. One set of rules is written into permanent law. The other rests on a temporary extension that Congress has to keep renewing.Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. (n.d.). Telehealth Insurance Coverage. medicare.gov. Retrieved Jun 4, 2026, from https://www.medicare.gov/coverage/telehealth
Which track applies is the whole question, because it decides the single thing families care most about: whether you are allowed to be at home when you receive the care.
Behavioral and mental health telehealth: the permanent track
Behavioral and mental health telehealth is the part of the benefit you can count on. The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 permanently removed the geographic and originating-site restrictions for these services, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. A beneficiary anywhere in the country, including at home, can receive behavioral health care by telehealth.Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. (n.d.). Telehealth Insurance Coverage. medicare.gov. Retrieved Jun 4, 2026, from https://www.medicare.gov/coverage/telehealth
Two specifics matter, and both currently cut in the reader's favor.
First, the in-person requirement is currently waived. Ordinarily, Medicare attaches an in-person condition to at-home behavioral telehealth: the practitioner has to have furnished an in-person service within the six months before the first telehealth visit, and an in-person visit at least once every twelve months after that. Congress has waived that requirement through December 31, 2027, and it is scheduled to take effect only for services furnished on or after January 1, 2028 unless it is extended again. In plain terms, you do not have to see the provider in person first to start at-home behavioral telehealth today.Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. (n.d.). Telehealth Insurance Coverage. medicare.gov. Retrieved Jun 4, 2026, from https://www.medicare.gov/coverage/telehealth
Second, audio-only counts, and for behavioral care it counts permanently. When a patient cannot or does not consent to a video connection, Medicare allows behavioral health telehealth by telephone alone, and as of January 31, 2026 practitioners may use real-time, two-way audio-only technology for these services. That audio-only allowance is specific to behavioral health and does not extend to most other telehealth, a meaningful carve-out for people without reliable internet or a video-capable device.Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. (n.d.). Telehealth Insurance Coverage. medicare.gov. Retrieved Jun 4, 2026, from https://www.medicare.gov/coverage/telehealth
General Medicare telehealth from home: the temporary track
For care that is not behavioral or mental health, the rules are in flux. The flexibilities that let beneficiaries receive telehealth from home, anywhere in the United States, are temporary. They are currently extended through December 31, 2027.Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. (n.d.). Telehealth Insurance Coverage. medicare.gov. Retrieved Jun 4, 2026, from https://www.medicare.gov/coverage/telehealth
This is the part to watch. If Congress does not extend the flexibilities again, most non-behavioral telehealth would revert to the rules that applied before the pandemic. Under those older rules, the patient generally has to be located in a rural area, at an approved originating site such as a clinic or hospital, not at home. The reversion would not change which services are eligible so much as where you are allowed to be when you receive them. General, non-behavioral audio-only visits ride the same temporary clock and would fall away with the rest of the from-home flexibility.Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. (n.d.). Telehealth Insurance Coverage. medicare.gov. Retrieved Jun 4, 2026, from https://www.medicare.gov/coverage/telehealth
Because the deadline is a moving target, confirm the current status before you plan a non-behavioral telehealth visit from home. The date has been extended more than once, and it can change again.
| Rule | Behavioral / mental health | General (non-behavioral) |
|---|---|---|
| Status | Permanent | Temporary, through Dec. 31, 2027 |
| Where you can be | Anywhere, including home | Anywhere, including home, until the flexibility expires |
| If the flexibility lapses | Unaffected | Reverts to rural-area, approved-site rules |
| Prior in-person visit required | Waived through Dec. 31, 2027 | No |
| Audio-only allowed | Yes, permanently, if the patient can't or doesn't consent to video | Yes, but only while the temporary flexibility lasts |
| Cost | Part B: 20% after the $283 deductible | Part B: 20% after the $283 deductible |
What care you can get by telehealth
Medicare covers a broad range of care by telehealth, from routine and specialty visits to behavioral health, but it does not cover every service this way. Medicare publishes the list of services it will pay for by telehealth on its telehealth coverage page, and that list is updated over time. So the useful question is not whether telehealth is covered in the abstract, but whether the specific service you need is on Medicare's covered-telehealth list, and whether your provider is approved to deliver it that way.Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. (n.d.). Telehealth Insurance Coverage. medicare.gov. Retrieved Jun 4, 2026, from https://www.medicare.gov/coverage/telehealth
The two tracks above decide where you may be when you get a covered service; they do not change which services qualify. To confirm a particular visit, check the current list on Medicare's telehealth page or ask the provider's billing office before the appointment. If the service is not on the covered list, Medicare will not pay for it by telehealth even while the from-home flexibility is in effect.
What Medicare telehealth costs
Telehealth does not carry a separate price. It is billed under Part B, and the cost-sharing matches an in-person visit for the same service. After you meet the $283 Part B annual deductible for 2026, you generally pay 20% of the Medicare-approved amount for the visit.Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. (2026). 2026 Medicare Parts A & B Premiums and Deductibles. cms.gov. Retrieved Jun 22, 2026, from https://www.cms.gov/newsroom/fact-sheets/2026-medicare-parts-b-premiums-deductibles
The Part B standard premium of $202.90 a month applies as it would for any Part B coverage, and these 2026 figures run from January 1 through December 31.Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. (2026). 2026 Medicare Parts A & B Premiums and Deductibles. cms.gov. Retrieved Jun 22, 2026, from https://www.cms.gov/newsroom/fact-sheets/2026-medicare-parts-b-premiums-deductibles
So the telehealth question is rarely about price. For a given service, you pay the same whether you see the provider in their office or on a screen. What decides coverage is the track the visit falls under and, for general care, whether the temporary flexibility is still in effect.Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. (n.d.). Telehealth Insurance Coverage. medicare.gov. Retrieved Jun 4, 2026, from https://www.medicare.gov/coverage/telehealth
Medicare telehealth under Medicare Advantage
The rules above describe Original Medicare. If you are enrolled in a Medicare Advantage plan, you get at least the same telehealth coverage Original Medicare provides, and many plans add more.Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. (n.d.). Telehealth Insurance Coverage. medicare.gov. Retrieved Jun 4, 2026, from https://www.medicare.gov/coverage/telehealth
Medicare Advantage plans set their own cost-sharing, which can differ from Original Medicare's, and they can apply network and prior-authorization rules to telehealth just as they do to in-person care. If you have an Advantage plan, check your plan's specific telehealth benefits and any copays, because they vary by plan rather than following a single national rule.Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. (n.d.). Compare Original Medicare & Medicare Advantage - Medicare.gov. medicare.gov. Retrieved Jun 23, 2026, from https://www.medicare.gov/basics/get-started-with-medicare/get-more-coverage/your-coverage-options/compare-original-medicare-medicare-advantage
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I get a telehealth visit from home in 2026?
Yes for behavioral and mental health care, permanently. For other care, yes for now: the flexibility allowing non-behavioral telehealth from home is extended through December 31, 2027. If that extension is not renewed, most non-behavioral telehealth would again require you to be in a rural area at an approved site rather than at home.Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. (n.d.). Telehealth Insurance Coverage. medicare.gov. Retrieved Jun 4, 2026, from https://www.medicare.gov/coverage/telehealth
Do I have to see my provider in person before a mental health telehealth visit?
Not right now. Medicare normally requires an in-person visit within the six months before the first at-home behavioral telehealth visit, but that requirement is waived through December 31, 2027. It is scheduled to return only for visits on or after January 1, 2028 unless Congress extends the waiver again.Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. (n.d.). Telehealth Insurance Coverage. medicare.gov. Retrieved Jun 4, 2026, from https://www.medicare.gov/coverage/telehealth
Does telehealth cost more than an in-person visit?
No. Telehealth is covered under Part B at the same cost-sharing as the equivalent in-person service: 20% of the Medicare-approved amount after the $283 deductible in 2026.Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. (2026). 2026 Medicare Parts A & B Premiums and Deductibles. cms.gov. Retrieved Jun 22, 2026, from https://www.cms.gov/newsroom/fact-sheets/2026-medicare-parts-b-premiums-deductibles
Can a mental health telehealth visit be by phone?
Yes. Audio-only behavioral health telehealth is allowed when the patient cannot or does not consent to a video connection, and as of January 31, 2026 practitioners may use real-time, two-way audio-only technology for it. This audio-only allowance is specific to behavioral health and does not extend to most other telehealth.Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. (n.d.). Telehealth Insurance Coverage. medicare.gov. Retrieved Jun 4, 2026, from https://www.medicare.gov/coverage/telehealth
How do I find out whether my specific service is covered by telehealth?
Medicare publishes the list of services it covers by telehealth and updates it over time, so whether a given service qualifies depends on that list rather than on a blanket rule. Check the current list at Medicare's telehealth page, or ask your provider's billing office whether the service you need is on it.Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. (n.d.). Telehealth Insurance Coverage. medicare.gov. Retrieved Jun 4, 2026, from https://www.medicare.gov/coverage/telehealth
How to confirm your coverage before a visit
Because the general-care flexibility is a moving deadline, confirm the current status before you schedule a from-home, non-behavioral visit.
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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.