Clinical Social Work Practice Tools: Practice

Effective September 30, 2025, several telehealth flexibilities that were put into place during the COVID-19 pandemic expired and now require congressional actions to be renewed. As of today, lawmakers have not addressed the expirations. Clinical social workers should be aware of two expirations that may impact the way they practice:the geographic waiver and in-person requirement.

The National Association of Social Workers (NASW) has received numerous member inquiries about the status of Medicare waivers for telehealth services. There has been some confusion centered around the status of telehealth flexibilities. Most telehealth flexibilities were scheduled to end on December 31, 2024; however, Congress implemented telehealth waivers January 2025 and extended the waivers until March 31, 2025.

NASW Task Force for Serious Illness: Palliative and End of Life Care is please to announce the attached draft practice standards for public comment, Serious Illness: Palliative and End of Life Care. The draft standards offer guidance to social workers in all settings where palliative and end of life services occur. They offer guidance to social workers and serve as benchmark for services social workers provide. We value your input and encourage you to review the document.

In late 2024 the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued the 2025 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (PFS). This 1,348-page rule updates policies and payments for clinical social workers (CSWs) and other Medicare providers; these changes, in turn, affect health coverage for beneficiaries. Changes related to payments and other Medicare Part B policies addressed in the PFS take effect on or after January 1, 2025.

The National Association of Social Workers (NASW) is establishing a task force to revise the “ Standards and Indicators for Cultural Competence in Social Work Practice ,” which was published in 2015. NASW is seeking social workers to participate in the revision process. Candidates must be NASW members and have at least five years of experience in Micro, Mezzo, or Macro Practice settings, working with culturally diverse populations.

The National Association of Social Workers is issuing a reminder that the deadline to submit the Beneficial Ownership Information (BOI) Report is approaching. Social workers in solo or group private practice must comply with the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) by filing a BOI with the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). This applies to entities like LLCs, PLLCs, and S-Corps.