REPORTEDLY REVERSED this morning except for telehealth (which is bad enough!)
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Yesterday Medicare announced it was suspending ALL payments to doctors.
Seems they've backed off that and now it only impacts tekelealth, which is bad enough heaven knows.
www.statnews.com/2025/10/15/c...
— Clio2 (@clio2.bsky.social) 2025-10-16T13:35:18.560Z
Thanks, commenter squirrelyone, for spotting the reversal!
This administration! :-/
ORIGINAL POST:
CMS website:
Due to the Democrat-led shutdown, updates to information on this website may be limited or delayed. Mission-critical activities of CMS will continue as the Trump Administration works to reopen the government for the American people.
Yeah, yeah, we know about that b.s. all over government websites (and that's a Hatch Act violation, but whatevs, will you cut to the chase! ) ;-)
...CMS has instructed all Medicare Administrative Contractors (MACs) to continue to temporarily hold claims with dates of service of October 1, 2025, and later for services impacted by the expired Medicare legislative payment provisions passed under the Full-Year Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2025. This includes all claims paid under the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule, ground ambulance transport claims, and all Federally Qualified Health Center claims. Providers may continue to submit these claims, but payment will not be released until the hold is lifted.
(Does this say anything about CMS pausing payments from Medicare recipients into the system, from those--that is--who have to make supplementary payments? Not that I see.)
STAT10 reports:
It’s happening because Congress needs to reauthorize certain Medicare payment programs related to telehealth and rural providers, and that reauthorization has gotten wrapped up in the overall deal to reopen the government.
Why all Medicare payments are being paused is, however, a mystery, STAT10 adds; the CMS press office apparently isn't answering the phone.
Don't know about you, but through all the shutdowns in the past I can't recall this ever happening before.
The American Health Care Association says
We do not anticipate an impact on providers at this time, assuming that providers bill Part B claims monthly. For those who bill on a more frequent basis, we would recommend that providers hold any claims for October dates of service until this situation is resolved.
This advice, however, assumes that the shutdown will end soon.
As the House Speaker does not appear to have any plans to call the House into session ever again, that seems like it might be optimistic.
CMS also says:
...practitioners who choose to perform telehealth services that are not payable by Medicare on or after October 1, 2025, may want to evaluate providing beneficiaries with an Advance Beneficiary Notice of Noncoverage (ABN).
Anyone who's dependent on telehealth might especially want to take that up with their Senators and Congressperson.
Medicare has always been considered a "third rail," like Social Security--you don't touch that. At present all bets seem to be off.
