By Laura Groshong, LICSW, CSWA Director of Policy and Practice

Here is some relatively good news.

The bill opening the Federal government this week included another extension that delays the in-person requirements for Medicare patients that went into effect on October 1. The new deadline for this extension is January 31, 2026.

It is frustrating to have these short-term extensions. CSWA will continue to work to have the in-person requirement for telemental health treatment eliminated permanently.

I’ve had several posts from members concerned about how the in-person requirement would affect the interstate licensure Compact if it were to go into effect as it seems there is a conflict between the requirement and that the Compact is supposed to allow LCSWs to see patients virtually. The way this conflict may be solved is to call seeing a patient in person a “burden” because distance is too far to meet in person. This is an option in CMS guidance though distance is not specifically mentioned as a burden. There is no guarantee that this will be accepted by CMS as a burden. There are 14 Compacts with thousands of licensees across various professions and all of them are facing this problem, so I expect there to be some kind of exemption for Compacts.

Another ongoing concern is whether commercial insurers are starting to adopt the in-person requirement. I have had anecdotal reports about insurers that are taking this route but there is no major company I am aware of that is doing so. Be careful to read any information from plans in which you are paneled to stay on top of this issue.

On another note, please take the Telemental Health Survey sponsored by CSWA and NASW. We have almost 500 responses and want to get as many as possible by November 22 when the survey closes. Thanks for your help.

Laura Groshong, LICSW, CSWA Director of Policy and Practice

lwgroshong@clinicalsocialworkassociation.org