In-person telehealth requirement
February 12, 2025
What you need to know about the evolving Medicare in-person telehealth requirement and upcoming expiration deadline
Our focus
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Advocate for Medicare policies that facilitate greater access to psychologists’ services.
Unlike private sector health insurance plans, Medicare does not allow psychologists to see Medicare patients independently in all covered treatment settings, and the program does not incentivize delivery of psychological and behavioral health services in rural and underserved areas to the same degree that psychiatrists’ and physicians’ services are. APA is working to change laws and regulations to clear these and other barriers to care, and to gain full recognition of and autonomy for clinical psychologists. -
Expand Medicare coverage of mental health and substance use disorder services, including through the addition of new treatment modalities and settings—such as telehealth and audio-only services provided to patients in their homes.
Medicare’s benefit package contains gaps and limits that uniquely apply to coverage of mental and behavioral health services in several key areas, inappropriately limiting patient access to effective treatment. -
Protect psychologists from Medicare reimbursement rate reductions.
When surveyed, clinical psychologists say that the primary reason they don’t participate in Medicare is the program offers low reimbursement rates. Over the last several years Medicare payment rates for psychological services have not kept pace with inflation which further discourages psychologists’ participation. Recent broad changes in how Medicare services are coded and reimbursed, along with budgetary pressures, have combined to reduce reimbursement amounts. -
Strengthen reimbursement and support to promote adoption of evidence-based integrated primary and behavioral healthcare services.
Integrating behavioral health specialists into primary care practice teams can increase access to mental health and substance use services and reduce disparities, improve patient outcomes, and can lower treatment costs by reducing hospitalization and emergency department use. Evidence-based models, such as the Primary Care Behavioral Health model, hold great promise but are underutilized. APA supports initiatives to broaden adoption of all evidence-based models of integrated care.
Our efforts on this issue advance the following advocacy priorities:
- Access to health services, including mental and behavioral health services
- Health equity for underserved and vulnerable populations
- Reimbursement and scope of practice
It’s clear that Medicare beneficiaries need better access to mental health treatment, and specifically to the full set of services provided by psychologists…Seniors are being hit hard by the ongoing opioid crisis, by chronic pain, by depression and by dementia. In all of these cases and others, psychological interventions are underused...
What you can do
Related issues
Contact us
Scott Barstow
Senior Director of Congressional and Federal Affairs
Andrew Strickland, JD
Legislative and Regulatory Officer
Julio Abreu
Director of Congressional and Federal Relations
Recent advocacy on Medicare reimbursement and access
Election raises the stakes for psychology advocacy
November 15, 2024
How APA Services is responding to the November 2024 election
Expanding behavioral health access for Medicare
November 13, 2024
APA Services applauds CMS for adopting key changes to Medicare policy in the CY2025 Physician Fee Schedule final rule
Preventing 2025 Medicare payment cuts
October 15, 2024
APA Services joins the health care community in calling for Medicare payments to keep pace with inflation, and a majority of House members endorse preventing a 2.8% cut in Medicare provider payments as part of end-of-year package.