Many social workers have heard of possible changes to telehealth allowances for Medicare that are scheduled to begin Jan. 1, 2025, but quite a bit of confusion and misinformation are around. At this point, some information is clear, and some is still in flux.

What we at NASW know:

A number of changes are coming in 2025 for some aspects of Medicare telehealth, but for the most part, those changes do NOT apply to behavioral health (BH).

Medicare telehealth allowances for BH will continue, to include both video and audio-only.

Rates will continue to be equal to in person as long as you are using POS 10. The changes that may possibly come are requirements for one in-person visit during the first six months of treatment and once every 12 months after that.

What is still in flux:

Those in-person requirements may still be reversed through a bill that is working its way through Congress: the Telehealth Health Care Access Act. The status of that bill is unclear. It could be voted through before Dec. 31, 2024, or extended into the new year. National NASW is monitoring the status.

What you can do:

National NASW has put together an Action Alert below that any social worker can use to advocate with your federal senators and representatives about the above bill.

What else to keep in mind:

Even if these in-person requirements do go through, there are exceptions built into the regulations, at least for the 12-month requirement, which "must be documented in the patient’s medical record noting a reason of the exception (such as a travel hardship or unavailability of providers or patients in scheduling)."

No information or more specifics on how exceptions would be determined or documented is yet available, nor are details on how enforcement would work on this overall. We will share as we learn more.

Bottom line for now:

At this point, it seems that providers can move forward with telehealth as has been provided until more information becomes available but with the understanding that changes could be coming down the pike.