Committee clarifies telehealth for master-level social workers, keeps supervision requirement

The committee advanced Senate Bill 252, a clarification that allows licensed master social workers to deliver telehealth services in New Mexico and reiterates that those practitioners remain subject to required supervision.

Senator Figueroa presented the bill and explained that a recent re-reading of statute had temporarily narrowed telehealth privileges to clinical-level social workers only. The bill restores the previous practice by explicitly allowing master-level licensed social workers to provide telehealth and preserves the board’s authority to require supervision.

Sponsors said regulators temporarily allowed master-level social workers to continue serving by telehealth pending legislative action, but the bill provides the legislative clarification needed to remove ambiguity. The amendment also adds a few other updates to reflect current professional terminology and adds certified peer support workers to the list of professions eligible for telehealth where they hold Medicaid provider identification.

The committee recorded a due-pass recommendation on the amended bill; because the panel had lost quorum earlier in the hearing, members agreed to record the motion and vote when a quorum was available, and the committee later reported a 6–0 do-pass. Sponsors said the language preserves supervision requirements and aligns telehealth law with the current scope of practice rules.