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Congress just gave rural America 40 days of telehealth. Then what?
Let that sink in.
After extending Medicare telehealth flexibilities through January 30, 2026, we’re staring down another cliff that threatens to abandon rural patients. Again.
Here’s what happens on January 31 if Congress doesn’t act:
🚫 No more virtual visits from home for rural Medicare patients
🚫 Physical therapists, occupational therapists, and speech pathologists lose telehealth billing rights entirely
🚫 Patients must travel to approved facilities for any telehealth service
🚫 FQHCs and rural health clinics can no longer serve as distant-site providers
Think about the 82-year-old farmer with heart failure in Montana. The stroke survivor in rural Mississippi needing weekly speech therapy. The diabetic grandmother in West Virginia managing multiple chronic conditions.
On February 1, they’ll lose the virtual care that’s kept them healthy and home.
The irony? CMS just spent November issuing retroactive payment guidance for the October telehealth lapse, telling providers to refund patients and resubmit claims. We’re literally fixing one short-term extension mess while creating another.
Rural America already faces:
• 27 labor and delivery unit closures in 2025
• Physician shortages in 80% of rural counties
• Average travel times of 40+ minutes to specialty care
Now we’re telling these communities that the telehealth lifeline they’ve relied on for 5 years will vanish overnight.
Congress knows this. The Telehealth Modernization Act sits there, ready to extend these flexibilities through 2027. Bipartisan support exists. Yet here we are, playing chicken with rural healthcare access.
This isn’t about technology adoption anymore. It’s about whether we believe rural Americans deserve the same healthcare access as everyone else.
47 days to decide.
♻️ Repost if rural patients deserve permanent telehealth access
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Author:
Jonathan Govette is a seasoned healthcare and technology executive with more than two decades of experience building, scaling, and advising digital health companies. He is the Co-Founder and CEO of Oatmeal Health, an AI-driven Lung Cancer Screening and Diagnostics company focused on expanding access to early detection for underrepresented populations, particularly patients served by Federally Qualified Health Centers and value-based health plans.
With a background in engineering, product development, and strategic partnerships, Jonathan has founded and led multiple health technology ventures across clinical care delivery, regulated medical software, and AI-enabled diagnostics. His work sits at the intersection of medicine, technology, and health equity, with a consistent focus on translating complex clinical problems into scalable, real-world solutions.
Jonathan has spent much of his professional life dedicated to improving outcomes for marginalized and underserved communities. He has designed and implemented frameworks that align clinical quality, reimbursement, and technology to sustainably advance health equity at scale. This mission is deeply personal and informs his leadership philosophy and long-term vision for healthcare transformation.
In addition to his operating experience, Jonathan is an author and long-time writer in the healthcare domain, with over 20 years of published work covering digital health, medical innovation, and healthcare systems. He is a frequent mentor to early-stage founders and regularly advises startups on product strategy, partnerships, and go-to-market execution in regulated healthcare environments.
Before entering industry full-time, Jonathan nearly pursued a career in medicine with an early path toward cardiothoracic surgery, an experience that continues to shape his clinical perspective and respect for frontline care delivery.
CEO | Oatmeal Health | AI Lung Cancer Startup | Engineer | Writer | Almost Became a Doctor (Cardiac Thoracic Surgeon) | 3x Health Tech Founder | Startup Mentor | Follow to share what I’ve learned along the way.
