House Votes to Extend Medicare Telehealth

The House of Representatives voted 217-213 to pass a continuing resolution (CR) on March 12, 2025, preventing the government shutdown set for March 14. The CR funds the government and extends Medicare telehealth flexibilities until Sept. 30, 2025.

The vote followed party lines except for Republican Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky opposing it due to his stance against continuing resolutions and Democratic Rep. Jared Golden of Maine supporting it to avoid a shutdown.

The CR, crafted by Republican appropriators and supported by President Trump, includes health care provisions such as extending telehealth access for Medicare beneficiaries and providers. It expands the list of allowed locations and types of providers for telehealth visits. The CR also extends funding for the hospital-at-home program, community health centers and teaching health centers.

The CR leaves several prominent health care issues unresolved, including the $880 billion cuts to the Energy and Commerce Committee, which oversees Medicare and Medicaid. It also does not address the recent 2.83% Medicare physician pay cut or the looming expiration of the Affordable Care Act enhanced tax credits.

Democrats criticized the bill, arguing it cuts health care funding and fails to protect Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security, with Democratic Rep. Hakeem Jeffries of New York calling the CR an “attack” on health care. Many democratic representatives supported instead an alternative one-month CR.