Rehab

Individual involvement necessary to achieve federal direct access

Briefings on Outpatient Rehab: Reimbursement and Regulations, May 1, 2009

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For the third consecutive year, the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) has teamed up with legislators to introduce a bill that would give Medicare beneficiaries direct access to PT.

The Medicare Patient Access to Physical Therapists Act (HR 1829) was introduced in the House of Representatives in late March with 56 cosponsors (the most original cosponsors the bill has had since its inception), with a similar bill expected to be introduced to the Senate soon. If passed, the bill would allow Medicare beneficiaries to receive services from PTs without a physician’s referral.

But without improved efforts from individual PTs and large rehab organizations, the bill may never see a vote, says Kelly Lavin, director of federal government affairs at APTA.

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