CMS Policy Alert: The End of Easy Telehealth Billing From Home is Here.
A Major Shift in the 2026 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule
Telehealth has been a lifeline for patients and providers alike, but a critical—and temporary—piece of flexibility that made virtual care easier to manage is coming to an end.
In the final 2026 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS) rule, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has announced the discontinuation of a five-year-old policy that allowed providers to report and bill for telehealth services using their currently enrolled practice location, even when delivering that care from a remote site, such as their home during evenings or weekends.
While the new rule includes some positive news, like eliminating frequency limits for telehealth in hospitals and SNFs, the elimination of this single policy presents a severe new challenge for every organization delivering virtual care.
The Hidden Cost of the Policy Reversal
Since the start of the public health emergency, this billing flexibility has been instrumental in reducing administrative complexity. By allowing providers to simply use their main practice address, healthcare organizations avoided a significant administrative hurdle.
Now, that hurdle is back, and it's bigger than ever.
With this allowance ending, any provider who continues to offer telehealth from an alternate location (including their home) will be required to:
Separately Enroll and Bill: Providers must separately enroll and bill for each location from which they deliver telehealth services.
Track Exponentially More Data: Industry alliances estimate this change could add 40 times the number of billing addresses that organizations must track and report to CMS.
Face Huge Operational Costs: The regulatory burden and operational complexity are expected to result in millions of dollars in additional costs for providers and organizations not set up to manage this multi-location reality.
This change is the "antithesis" of the vision to reduce administrative burden and threatens to cause a sharp drop-off in the very telehealth services that enhance continuity of care and patient access.
Ready to Navigate the New Compliance Landscape?
The clock is ticking. You can't afford to risk non-compliance, payment denials, or cash-flow stress under these new requirements.
At Allied Practice Management Solutions, we specialize in turning regulatory burdens into streamlined processes. Our team is uniquely positioned to help your organization adapt to the complexity of multi-location telehealth billing and compliance before the policy officially lapses.
We can help you:
Audit & Restructure: Review your current telehealth workflows and billing systems for compliance with the new CMS requirements.
Streamline Enrollment: Develop a scalable strategy for managing provider enrollment for all necessary alternate sites.
Minimize Denial Risk: Ensure accurate coding and billing across every service location to protect your reimbursement rates.
Don’t let a sudden billing change disrupt your patient care model. Partner with Allied Practice Management Solutions to ensure your telehealth program remains compliant, efficient, and profitable.