Montpelier Bridge: Medicare Telehealth Coverage Has Ended, Startling Those Who Had Relied on It

Disabled and elderly Vermonters who use Medicare woke up Oct. 1 to a new medical care barrier. That day, Medicare stopped covering the cost of telehealth for medical visits. 

Instead of receiving care via videoconference, many of Dr. Melissa Houser’s patients must now show up in person at her Montpelier clinic serving neurodivergent people, All Brains Belong, to avoid paying out of pocket. Most of the clinic’s patients have complex chronic health needs. For many, in-person care is hard to access.

“We have a large portion of patients who literally can’t come in [person],” Houser said, explaining that some are bedbound or live hours from Montpelier. 

After announcing the loss of telehealth coverage in an email to affected patients, Houser said, “I got responses back like, ‘What are you talking about?’…They’re confused and bewildered. Like, how could this be a thing in 2025? How could this be taken from me?”