Doctors cancel some Medicare, Medicaid telemedicine appointments during shutdown

WBUR | By Here & Now Newsroom

Published October 9, 2025 at 9:10 AM PDT

Medicare is not reimbursing doctors for many telehealth appointments during the government shutdown, now on day nine. That’s because a COVID-era policy that extended telehealth coverage expired with government funding at the end of last month.

Here & Now’s Robin Young speaks with San Diego dermatologist Abby Tyagi, who is concerned that some of her patients won’t receive the care they need during the shutdown because she can’t offer them telemedicine appointments.

This article was originally published on WBUR.org.

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