The COVID-19 public health emergency has upended the nation’s healthcare system. This disruption has also created opportunities for rapid progress. For example, to slow the spread of the disease, the Administration and Congress have expanded Medicare coverage and payment for telehealth services.

Today, multiple proposals sit before Congress and the Administration to permanently or temporarily expand these telehealth flexibilities. However, extension of the existing landscape should not be taken as a foregone conclusion. Significant policy work remains to transform telehealth services from a pandemic response into a permanent feature of the American healthcare delivery system.