Telehealth Shortcuts Are Becoming Criminal Cases
Recent federal enforcement actions in the telehealth space are sending a clear message to providers and digital health platforms alike: virtual care does not come with virtual compliance.
In late 2025, federal prosecutors brought one of the most significant criminal cases to date against a telehealth platform and an affiliated medical practice, alleging large-scale violations tied to medical necessity, prescribing practices, and claims submitted to public and commercial payers. The case underscores what regulators have been signaling for some time. Telehealth models are being held to the same clinical, billing, and compliance standards as traditional in-person care, with no tolerance for shortcuts.
The most important takeaway is that risk does not live in one place. Liability can extend across the entire ecosystem, including platforms, medical practices, supervising clinicians, marketing partners, and pharmacies. Enforcement agencies are increasingly connecting documentation, billing, prescribing behavior, and revenue models into a single compliance lens.
At Everest A/R Management Group Inc, we work with providers and healthcare organizations to prevent these issues long before they attract regulatory attention. We have helped practices clean up faulty workflows, strengthen documentation standards, align billing with medical necessity, and implement compliance-focused revenue cycle processes that reduce exposure to audits, recoupments, and enforcement actions.
Our teams of certified coders and compliance-focused RCM professionals work alongside providers to ensure that claims, coding, and supporting documentation accurately reflect appropriate care. When systems are built correctly, providers are not only protected, they are positioned for sustainable growth without regulatory risk.
As telehealth continues to expand into 2026, the organizations that will succeed are those that treat compliance as foundational, not reactive. Innovation without guardrails is no longer defensible, and regulators have made it clear they are watching closely.
If your organization is evaluating telehealth operations, billing practices, or compliance risk, now is the time to take a hard look at the systems behind the scenes.
To learn more, visit Everestar.com or reach out to us at info@everestar.com to discuss how Everest can help strengthen compliance and protect your revenue cycle.
