U.S. hospices urge clearer telehealth rules as waivers near expiration
ILLINOIS, UNITED STATES — Hospices across the United States are calling for more permanent telehealth regulations, warning that the uncertainty around federal waivers threatens both patient care and investments in technology.
With the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) temporary telehealth flexibilities set to expire on September 30, providers say they are left balancing innovation with financial and operational risks.
Telehealth advances but regulations lag
Hospices began integrating telehealth services before the pandemic, but emergency waivers during COVID-19 allowed them to expand access and connect with patients in previously hard-to-reach areas.
“These flexibilities are really big things that we’ve been utilizing, and [part of] the problem with short-term extensions is they don’t allow us to make appropriate investments in telehealth solutions,” said Dr. Julia Frydman, senior medical director at Thyme Care at the Hospice News ELEVATE conference in Florida.
She added that without regulatory certainty, organizations struggle to justify spending on new platforms and the staffing needed to support them.
Florida-based Empath Health, which oversees 17 affiliates and four philanthropic foundations, has seen the benefits of telehealth since launching its program in 2016.
According to Bivak Pathak, the nonprofit’s chief information and digital strategy officer, the approach has “yielded positive results when it comes to routine hospice visits, face-to-face encounters, family meetings and patient assessments, particularly in acute, end-of-life situations.”
Still, he cautioned that hospices cannot keep building on these successes without a clearer path forward.
“We definitely need [more] equitable access to telehealth. How do we support the advocacy and regulation perspective?” Pathak said at the Hospice News ELEVATE conference.
Outsourcing fuels hospice technology adoption
Outsourcing is also shaping the telehealth landscape, particularly as technology providers partner with hospices to expand capacity and patient engagement.
Companies like Axxess are working closely with providers to design tools that capture patient needs more effectively.
“Technology must be intuitive in that manner,” said Wendy Conlon, senior vice president of client experience at Axxess. “We are all vested in understanding how technology can really promote and scale our care delivery.”
Her remarks underscore how outsourcing to specialized health tech firms is allowing hospices to adopt more advanced systems without bearing the full cost of in-house development.
For the outsourcing industry, hospice care represents a growing niche where technology services can have both business impact and humanitarian value.
As hospices grapple with regulatory uncertainty, their reliance on outsourced expertise highlights a larger trend: the convergence of healthcare and technology services in a market that demands efficiency, personalization, and flexibility.
With the September 30 deadline looming, providers say patients and families could face disruptions if federal regulators do not extend or make permanent the flexibilities that have supported a rapid telehealth shift.
For many, the stakes extend beyond compliance, as they deeply impact the delivery of compassionate care during times of greatest need.
