We urge you to join our new online advocacy campaign to urge your Senators and Representative to pass a long-term telehealth fix. Congress unfortunately failed to pass legislation extending Medicare telehealth flexibilities before they expired on September 30. These flexibilities ensure that Medicare beneficiaries can receive care via telehealth from home. This has resulted in an abrupt end to telehealth services for millions of Medicare beneficiaries. Access to telehealth services serves as a lifeline to millions across the country, particularly for individuals with complex chronic conditions including diabetes and obesity. The Endocrine Society is advocating for Congress to extend these waivers, and we need your help to urge your elected leaders in Washington to immediately pass a long-term telehealth fix. Please take action today by clicking here.
We also will host a special session, “Policy and Practice: What Changes Will Affect Endocrinologists” during the Society’s annual Clinical Endocrinology Update (CEU) meeting. During this year’s session, we will provide an overview of the legislative and regulatory landscape pertaining to telehealth, physician payment and other issues important to our clinician members. We hope that you will attend this informative session. The session will take place on Saturday October 25th at 10:00 AM ET. Please visit the CEU page on our website to register for the meeting.
On October 16, President Trump announced a new agreement with pharmaceutical manufacturer EMD Serono to align U.S. drug prices with the lowest prices paid abroad under the most-favored-nation policy to reduce costs for fertility medications like GONAL-F. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) estimates women can save up to $2,200 per cycle of fertility drugs because of this effort. EMD Serono also announced that they will manufacture IVF drugs in the United States for the first time. The FDA will fast-track review a lower cost fertility drug, which aims to benefit patients from lower prices due to increased competition in the fertility drug space. This agreement aligns with the President’s executive order that he issued earlier this year to expand access to IVF. The Society is a leader in advocating for access to IVF treatment. We are encouraged to see members of Congress from both sides of the aisle considering this legislation to preserve access to IVF and other assisted reproductive technologies. The Society will continue to advocate for our members who treat and research infertility and other hormone health conditions.
On October 17, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) released a new Guidance Document “on the Generation, Reporting and Use of Research Data for Regulatory Assessments.” This document aims to enhance the consideration and use of research data in regulatory assessments by OECD Member Countries to increase amount of “nonstandard research data” used by regulators and address the need for robust scientific evidence to inform regulatory assessments. Endocrine Society members Scott Belcher, PhD, and Laura Vandenberg, PhD, were members of the OECD Expert Group that led the development of this important guidance. The guidance includes information relevant to all groups involved in the life cycle of research data, from generation to regulatory use. We encourage members of the Endocrine Society to examine the guidance for information on how to enhance the regulatory utility of their data and publication.
On October 1, funding for the federal government expired because Congress failed to pass a continuing resolution (CR) to fund the federal government. As a result, there is currently a lapse in funding which will affect Endocrine Society researcher and clinician members. Congress is currently in a stalemate, and it is not clear how long the shutdown will last. Below is information which will be helpful to you during the shutdown (we update this information weekly):
We urge you to join our new online advocacy campaign to tell your Senators and Representative to pass a full-year funding bill that reopens the government and to support funding NIH at least at the Senate Appropriations Committee’s bill level of $47.8 billion for FY 26.
As a result of the current shutdown of the federal government, operations at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) have shifted to maintain essential services at its biomedical research hospital, the NIH Clinical Center. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released a contingency plan that details which NIH activities will not resume during the shutdown. These activities include:
NIH staff, whose responsibilities are deemed necessary for patient care and the protection of property, will continue to work without pay.
Medicare and Medicaid Programs: According to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) contingency plan, during a lapse in funding, the Medicare Program will continue. CMS has sufficient funding for Medicaid to fund the first quarter of FY 2026, based on the advanced appropriation provided for in the Full-Year Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2025. CMS is maintaining the staff necessary to make payments to eligible states for the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP). CMS is also continuing Federal Marketplace activities, such as eligibility verification, using Federal Marketplace user fee carryover. Other non-discretionary activities including Health Care Fraud and Abuse Control (HCFAC) and Center for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) activities are also continuing.
Telehealth Services: Physicians who provide telehealth services to Medicare patients should be aware that the Medicare telehealth flexibility has lapsed for care to all patients except those being treated for mental health or substance use disorders. This means that telehealth services are limited to rural areas as they were before the COVID public health emergency and that patients cannot receive telehealth services in their homes. Note, however, physicians in certain Medicare Shared Savings Program accountable care organizations (ACOs) can continue to provide and be paid for telehealth services. In addition, the ability to provide audio-only services to Medicare patients lapsed, as did the Acute Hospital Care at Home program.
Special Diabetes Program & other health extenders: Funding for the Special Diabetes Program and other health extender programs has lapsed. Other programs include the community health centers, the National Health Service Corps, and teaching health centers that operate graduate medical education (GME) programs. It also includes public health emergency authorities (e.g., Public Health Emergency Fund); increased inpatient hospital payment adjustment for certain low-volume hospitals; Medicare-Dependent Hospital (MDH) program; quality measure endorsement, input, and selection; and outreach and assistance for low-income programs (e.g., area agencies on aging).
Medicare Claims: On October 22, CMS issued updated guidance instructing all Medicare Administrative Contractors (MACs) to lift the claims hold and process claims with dates of service of October 1, 2025, and later for certain services impacted by select expired Medicare legislative payment provisions. This includes claims paid under the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule, ground ambulance transport claims, and Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) claims. This includes telehealth claims that CMS can confirm are definitively for behavioral and mental health services. CMS has directed all MACs to continue to temporarily hold claims for other telehealth services (i.e. those that CMS cannot confirm are definitively for behavioral and mental health services) and for acute Hospital Care at Home claims. For the latest information, physicians should monitor their MAC’s website and this CMS webpage.
We rely on your voice to advocate for our policy priorities. Join us to show our strength as a community that cares about endocrinology. Contact your US representatives or European Members of Parliament through our online platform. Take action and make a difference today.
