Medicare Proposes Ban on Remote Monitoring Vendors
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- Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services proposed to bar vendors from providing remote patient monitoring services on behalf of physicians, a reversal of current practice
- Medicare expanded coverage to remote patient monitoring in 2018, with program payments exceeding $500 million in 2024
- Health and Human Services watchdog, academics, and insurers have raised sustained concerns that current remote monitoring delivers low-value services
- Trump administration is advancing this policy as part of broader efforts to reduce fraud and wasteful spending in Medicare
- Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services recently launched an alternative payment model for digital health services, signaling a strategic pivot
Why it matters: The proposed rule threatens the business model of numerous digital health vendors relying on Medicare payments, which reached over half a billion dollars in 2024. If finalized, it would redirect how providers deliver remote care and force a shift toward CMS’s new alternative payment model.
