UnitedHealthcare Medicare Advantage telehealth benefits continue through 2026

UnitedHealthcare Medicare Advantage plans will continue to offer expanded telehealth coverage for medical and mental health services delivered at home through 2025 and 2026 — even after Original Medicare ended coverage for certain telehealth services on Sept. 30, 2025.

Coverage details

• In-home telehealth services: Covered when provided by in-network physicians, non-physician practitioners (e.g., PAs, NPs), and mental health providers. Both audio-only and audio-video visits are eligible if the service is listed on the current Medicare Telehealth List from Centers for Medicare and Medicaid services (CMS).
• Mental health telehealth: In-person visits are not required for coverage when services are provided by an in-network mental health provider
• Individual (non-employer group) Medicare Advantage PPO plans: Only Medicare-covered services are covered from out-of-network providers. Members wanting to use medical telehealth services from home must use a network provider for services to be covered.
• Medicare Advantage Group PPO plans: Telehealth services will not be reduced to Original Medicare requirements for out-of-network providers. Members can continue to receive telehealth services with in-network and out-of-network providers.
• Medicare Advantage non-network Private Fee-for-Service (PFFS) plans: Members may access telehealth services at home from any Medicare-eligible provider

Background

Temporary changes made to telehealth benefits during COVID-19 under Original Medicare expired on Sept. 30, 2025, limiting access for many beneficiaries. Telehealth services still covered by Original Medicare include:

• Mental health telehealth (at home): If the patient has seen the provider in person within the last 6 months for an initial visit, or within the last year for ongoing treatment
• Medical telehealth visits (at home): If the visit is for mental health or substance abuse services, or for End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) home dialysis services
• All other medical telehealth visits: If the member is in a qualifying originating site, such as a provider’s office or medical facility in a rural area. Providers in qualifying originating site locations will have on-site equipment available for the patient to conduct a telehealth visit with a provider in a distant location.
• Audio-only visits: When the patient is in their home for a type of visit covered in-home AND the distant site provider has the capability to use live video but the patient cannot or does not wish to use it