Federal lawmakers have delivered a major boost to digital healthcare, approving a funding package that ends a brief government shutdown while securing multi-year extensions for telehealth and hospital-at-home programs.
Signed into law on February 3, the legislation extends key Medicare telehealth flexibilities through 2027 and renews the Acute Hospital Care at Home (AHCAH) waiver through 2030.
The measure provides rare long-term certainty for hospitals, technology providers, and patients increasingly relying on remote care. Healthcare leaders say the extensions mark a turning point, providing the long-term stability needed to build a more durable digital healthcare infrastructure in the United States.
Hospital-at-home programs gain a five-year expansion window
A central provision of the funding package extends the AHCAH program for five years, allowing hospitals to continue delivering inpatient-level services to patients in their homes while receiving Medicare reimbursement.
Launched in 2020 under the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ Hospital Without Walls initiative, the program was designed to relieve hospital capacity pressures during the COVID-19 pandemic while maintaining high clinical standards.
The model has since expanded rapidly. As of late 2024, more than 360 hospitals across the United States had participated, delivering care to more than 31,000 patients in their homes.
Early evaluations suggest that hospital-at-home programs can achieve outcomes comparable to—and sometimes better than—those of traditional inpatient care, including similar or lower 30-day mortality and readmission rates.
Dr. Caroline Yang of Mass General Brigham Healthcare at Home told Healthcare IT News the extension gives providers “a reliable five-year runway” to scale programs responsibly, invest in remote patient monitoring technologies, and refine clinical pathways.
The broader home healthcare sector is also expanding. According to Renub Research, the U.S. home healthcare market is projected to hit $210.25 billion in 2033, fueled by an aging population and rising chronic disease rates.
For health systems facing workforce shortages and rising operating costs, the extended waiver reduces regulatory uncertainty and allows longer-term investments in home-based care infrastructure.
Telehealth flexibilities extended as bipartisan support holds
Beyond hospital-at-home programs, the legislation also extends several key Medicare telehealth provisions through December 31, 2027.
These include expanded access to virtual visits, in-home cardiopulmonary rehabilitation flexibilities through 2028, and the inclusion of virtual diabetes suppliers in the Medicare Diabetes Prevention Program through 2029.
The law also directs the Department of Health and Human Services to issue guidance within one year on delivering telehealth services to individuals with limited English proficiency.
ATA Action, the policy and advocacy arm of the American Telemedicine Association, credited bipartisan support in Congress for advancing the measures and ensuring patient and provider continuity.
The funding package also ended a three-day partial government shutdown, highlighting telehealth’s rare bipartisan backing even amid broader fiscal tensions.
With telehealth protections secured through 2027 and hospital-at-home reimbursement extended through 2030, the healthcare industry now faces a critical test: proving that virtual and home-based care models can deliver sustainable, high-quality outcomes while reshaping care delivery across the United States.
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Macayan, D. (2026, February 27). Hospital-at-home care in U.S. extended five years to 2030. Outsource Accelerator. Retrieved from https://news.outsourceaccelerator.com/hospital-at-home-care/
Adams, D., Wolfe, A., Warren, J., & Hughes D. L. (2024, December 17). Lessons from CMS’ Acute Hospital Care at Home Initiative. CMS. Retrieved March 3, 2026, from https://www.cms.gov/blog/lessons-cms-acute-hospital-care-home-initiative
