From ABCNews.com — By Mary Kekatos —
Hospitals and health systems across the U.S. are informing some Medicare patients that they will be unable to schedule telehealth appointments due to the federal government shutdown.
As of Oct. 1, Medicare’s pandemic-era telehealth waivers, which allowed patients to receive non-behavioral or mental health care in their home, expired.
The waivers allowed millions of seniors, among others, to have virtual appointments for tasks like prescription refills to wellness visits. The waivers do not impact in-person appointments and those who live in poorly served rural areas can go to a designated location, such as a doctor’s office or a hospital, to conduct telehealth visits.
Health systems, such as NYU Langone Health, have posted notices on their websites warning patients that virtual appointments cannot be scheduled.
“Due to the federal government shutdown, Medicare and Medicaid patients are unable to schedule new telehealth/video visits,” the notice reads. “If you already have a visit scheduled, it will continue as planned. If not, contact your doctor’s office to schedule an in-person appointment.”
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