As of October 20, 2025, the government remains in a shutdown. What does the shutdown mean for coverage and payment of outpatient therapy services under the Medicare program? Here is the latest:

Due to the continued government shutdown, CMS has instructed all Medicare Administrative Contractors to continue to hold claims for all services reimbursed under the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule. Update from CMS: In light of the continuing government shutdown, CMS will continue to process and pay held claims in a timely manner with the exception of select claims for services impacted by the expired provisions.  Claims impacted by the expired provisions include outpatient therapy delivered via telehealth. In addition, several localities are impacted by the geographic price cost index (GPCI) minimum work floor of 1.0. On October 1, 2025, that legislation

As of 12:01 am EDT this morning, the government has shut down due to Congress not passing legislation to continue to fund the government. What does the shutdown mean for outpatient therapy under original Medicare? Here are the implications: