If you have original Medicare, Part B will cover telehealth services, and you will have to pay a 20% coinsurance of the Medicare-approved amount for your doctor or other health care provider’s services after you pay the Part B deductible. You will have to pay the same amount for most telehealth services as if you received the service in person.

Due to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, Medicare has allowed doctors and other health care providers to use telehealth services to treat COVID-19 (and for other medically reasonable purposes) from offices, hospitals, and places of residence (like homes, nursing homes, and assisted living facilities). Medicare coinsurance and deductibles still apply; however, healthcare providers are reducing or waiving those amounts in some cases.

If you are enrolled in a Medicare Advantage plan, they must, at a minimum, provide the same benefits provided under Medicare Part A and Part B, so the same telehealth services are available. Depending on the Medicare Advantage plan you are enrolled in, additional telehealth services may be available, and the out-of-pocket costs may be lower.