January 26, 2022

I hope everyone is feeling well informed about the Good Faith Estimate rule, part of the No Surprises Act, which went into effect on January 1. There have been several webinars on this topic and one was listed on the CSWA website in the Members Only Section.

CSWA is working on two fronts to get LCSWs exempted from the GFE. One is a letter we co-wrote with the Psychotherapy Action Network (attached). The other is a campaign to let members of Congress know about the fact that LCSWs in private practice do not need to be part of the GFE; we already do everything that it requires and there are vanishingly low numbers of LCSWs who have had actionable complaints filed against them for surprise billing.

Please send your members of Congress at www.Congress.gov the following message: “I am a constituent and a member of the Clinical Social Work Association. The No Surprises Act requires me as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker to give my patients a Good Faith Estimate. I am in private practice and have patients pay me directly. The GFE interferes with the mental health treatment process (detailed in the attached letter). Please exempt LCSWs from the Good Faith Estimate requirements.”

NSA Letter to CMS (fin.) - 1-25-22.pdf

As always let me know when you have sent your messages.

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