14. Department of Health and Human Services · Minor · Needs Congress
Define the telehealth locus of service as the provider's location
Printed page 483 14. Department of Health and Human Services
“Legally define the locus of service as where the provider is located during the telehealth visit rather than where the patient is.”
What has happened
- Not started
The locus of a telehealth service is still where the patient is. No bill in the 119th Congress would redefine it as the provider's location: a Corpus title search returns about twenty telehealth measures - the Telehealth Modernization Act, the Telehealth Expansion Act, the Permanent Telehealth from Home Act, the Expanded Telehealth Access Act and others - and every one extends or expands the existing originating-site flexibilities rather than moving the legal situs. The only one to clear a chamber, H.R. 3419, reauthorizes the telehealth network and resource center grant programs and was received in the Senate on 2026-04-22; that is a different ask, so under playbook 3b it does not move this one. CMS's CY2026 and CY2027 physician fee schedule rules continue to administer originating-site rules on the patient's location.
No action found yet. This entry is the starting point, not a finding.
Research log
What was searched, and what didn’t count as evidence
Research notes
- Searched: bill titles among those we keep and search, from congress.gov, for “telehealth” (about 20, listed by latest action) and for “locus of service” and “originating site” (0 each); Federal Register API since 2025-01-20, “telehealth” “originating site” (11, all Medicare payment rules).
- Requires Congress; on the ladder for asks that need an act of Congress, this has not started.
- Action
- other
- Object
- telehealth locus of service
- ID
- 1343