CMS wants to end outsourced remote monitoring. Check your RPM model now

Medicare may soon stop paying for remote patient monitoring delivered by outside vendors, and health systems that rely on those partners need a plan before Jan. 1.

What CMS proposed

The proposed 2027 Medicare physician fee schedule would pay for remote physiologic and therapeutic monitoring only when clinical staff employed by the billing practice provide the service. Staff would not need to be on-site, but contracting the work to a third-party company would no longer qualify. Most provisions would take effect Jan. 1, 2027, if finalized.

CMS framed the change as program integrity. The inspector general has reported that Medicare remote monitoring payments rose 31% in one year, to $536 million in 2024, and earlier found that many patients did not receive all required parts of the service. The proposal would also require an initiating visit before monitoring starts and reduce payment for several codes.

Inpatient monitoring and hospital-at-home stays are paid under the inpatient DRG and would not be affected.

Pushback is growing

A bipartisan group of 32 House members asked CMS to reconsider, warning that a blanket ban on partnered clinical staff would hurt small and rural practices that lack staff to run these programs alone. Two senators raised similar concerns in September. More than 30 health systems and hospitals asked CMS to delay the policy. The American Telemedicine Association estimates that 60% to 70% of hospitals and health systems using remote monitoring rely on fully or partly outsourced models.

What to review before the final rule

• Map your model: identify which monitoring programs use vendor staff and how much Medicare revenue they generate.
• Price the alternatives: estimate the cost of bringing monitoring staff in-house, or of employing vendor clinicians directly, against the lower proposed payment.
• Tighten documentation: whatever CMS decides, make sure each patient’s record supports every billed component.
• Protect rural programs: check whether state Rural Health Transformation funds tied to monitoring depend on vendor arrangements.

Sources

• Lawmakers press CMS to roll back proposed restrictions on remote patient monitoring (Fierce Healthcare, Oct 6, 2026)
• CMS’ proposed remote patient monitoring ban, explained (Becker’s Hospital Review, 2026)
• 30+ systems, hospitals ask CMS to delay proposed remote monitoring policies (Becker’s Hospital Review, Aug 24, 2026)