For the past several years, telehealth was the “budget-friendly” alternative to an in-office visit, often featuring waived copays or $0 “preferred pricing.” However, as of January 2026, the landscape of virtual care is shifting toward a model of “payment parity,” where insurers are required or incentivized to charge the same for a screen-to-screen visit as an in-person one. According to the 2026 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule Final Rule, many of the broad flexibilities that made telehealth “cheaper” are reaching their statutory expiration. While this ensures doctors are paid fairly for their time, it means patients are losing the “virtual discount” they have come to rely on.
The End of the “$0 Copay” Era
The primary driver of telehealth pricing changes is the expiration of federal mandates that forced insurers to waive cost-sharing for virtual visits. During the public health emergency and its subsequent extensions, most plans offered telehealth at a “Preferred” rate to keep patients out of crowded clinics. As of January 1, 2026, many private insurers—including major carriers like Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts—are adjusting their 2026 premiums and benefits to account for rising labor costs. This often includes reintroducing standard copays for virtual visits, effectively ending the era of the $0 telehealth check-up for all but the most basic preventative services.
1. Non-Behavioral “Urgent Care” Visits
Through January 30, 2026, Medicare and many private plans allow patients to receive telehealth for general urgent care from anywhere, including their home, at a “facility-neutral” rate. However, starting January 31, 2026, geographic restrictions return for non-behavioral health. Unless you live in a federally designated rural area and travel to a qualifying medical facility, your “preferred pricing” for virtual urgent care may vanish. You may find that a visit that cost $20 in December now costs your full “Specialist” copay or a 20% coinsurance under Part B.
2. Remote Physical and Occupational Therapy
Physical and occupational therapists have been billing under “special flexibilities” that are set to expire on January 30, 2026. Starting January 31, PTs, OTs, and speech-language pathologists will generally no longer be authorized to furnish Medicare telehealth services from a distance. While some private insurers may continue the practice, they are often removing the “Preferred” pricing tier for these sessions. This means your remote rehab session could jump from a low-cost “Wellness” charge to a much higher “Therapy” billing code, complete with the new $2,480 KX modifier threshold oversight.
3. Hospital-Based Outpatient Services
Under new 2026 rules, hospitals may no longer bill for outpatient services furnished remotely by hospital staff to beneficiaries in their homes after January 30. Previously, a hospital “facility fee” was often waived or reduced for these visits. Now, if the service is allowed at all, the “site-neutral” logic of 2026 dictates that the price must reflect the higher overhead of a hospital system. Patients who previously enjoyed “low-cost” virtual follow-ups with hospital specialists are seeing these visits reclassified, resulting in surprise “Facility Fee” add-ons that can exceed $100.
4. Audio-Only Specialist Consultations
While audio-only telehealth is permanently allowed for behavioral health, it is losing its “Preferred” status for other specialties on January 31, 2026. During the pandemic, a simple phone call was often billed and covered as a full office visit with a waived copay. In 2026, most insurers are requiring “interactive audio-video” to trigger a standard reimbursement. If you choose an audio-only call for a non-mental health issue, your plan may categorize it as a “Non-Covered Phone Consultation,” leaving you to pay the doctor’s full cash rate.
5. Teaching Physician Oversight
The 2026 Physician Fee Schedule has declined to extend the policy that allowed teaching physicians to have a “virtual presence” while billing for services provided by residents in all settings. Moving forward, the teaching physician must be physically present for the “key portion” of the service to qualify for standard reimbursement, unless it is a specific 3-way telehealth session. This “administrative friction” is causing many teaching hospitals to eliminate their “discounted” virtual resident clinics, forcing patients back into more expensive, attending-led sessions.
6. Remote Diabetes Self-Management (DSMT)
Starting January 31, 2026, hospitals can no longer bill for DSMT and Medical Nutrition Therapy when furnished remotely by hospital staff to patients at home. These services were a cornerstone of “at-home” chronic care management in 2025. As these services transition back to “in-person only” or “rural-only” requirements, the convenient, low-cost virtual options are being replaced by more expensive, center-based programs. This shift is part of the broader 2026 “efficiency adjustment” to Work RVUs, which reduces payments for certain non-time-based codes by 2.5%.
Checking Your “Site” Before Your Session
The shift in telehealth pricing changes marks the end of virtual care as a “loss leader” for insurance companies. As we move into the “Parity Era,” you must assume that a virtual visit will cost exactly the same as an in-person one—and potentially more if “Facility Fees” are involved. To protect your wallet, always log into your member portal before scheduling a 2026 virtual visit to see if your plan still lists a “Preferred Provider” for telehealth. Asking the simple question, “Is my copay for this virtual visit the same as an in-office visit?” can save you from a “non-preferred” billing surprise at the end of the month.
Did your $0 telehealth copay suddenly turn into a $40 charge this month? Leave a comment below and let us know which plan you’re on.
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