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In Their Own Words
Make Telehealth Permanent for America’s Seniors
Pandemic-Era Medicare Flexibilities Have Proven Effective, Popular, and Safe
Print:
This Second Opinion originally appeared in MedPage Today on January 15, 2026.
As yet another government shutdown looms, telehealth’s uncertainty remains—and seniors risk paying the price.
While headlines about the last government closure focused on insurance premiums, millions of seniors across the country temporarily lost one important and easy way to seek health care. Access to telehealth was severely hampered by Washington’s inaction. While the stopgap funding law reinstated virtual care flexibility, it only lasts through January 30. With another shutdown looming, this critical means of health care access is at risk again.
Our seniors deserve better, and Congress must implement a permanent fix.
While medicine is often behind the technology curve—as an internal medicine doctor, I still use fax machines to share information with other clinics—telehealth was one bright spot that emerged from the pandemic. To minimize the spread of COVID, Medicare changed its rules to allow seniors to have video visits from home with nearly all health care providers.
I remember trying to pitch a telehealth program to a clinic in 2019 before these changes happened—it didn’t go anywhere. But today, telehealth represents a rare innovation that benefits everyone.
Read the full Second Opinion here.
Author
Kaustav Shah, MD
Internist; Fellow, National Clinician Scholars Program, Perelman School of Medicine
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