Suspended Telehealth Face-to-Face Encounters for Home Health and Hospice Providers

Face-to-face encounter requirements are a critical compliance issue for home health and hospice agencies. The government shutdown that occurred as of midnight on January 30th means that the telehealth option for face-to-face encounters has expired. While the current bill in legislation would extend the allowed telehealth face to face, there is no guarantee that it will be made retroactive when the government re-opens. Therefore, home health and hospice agencies should not accept telehealth face-to-face encounters starting January 31st.

Stay tuned here for more updates!

2/4/2026 Update:

The goverment has re-opened and the telehealth waiver has been extended. The extension is retroactive to cover telehealth visits that occurred during the temporary lapse.