Medicare Fee Cuts Could Devastate Rehabilitation Services, Physical Therapists Warn...

Medicare Fee Cuts Could Devastate Rehabilitation Services, Physical Therapists
Warn Congress

ALEXANDRIA, Va., May 8 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Pending cuts to the Medicare
physician fee schedule could severely hamper the ability of physical
therapists to serve the rehabilitation needs of seniors and people with
disabilities -- driving up overall costs while decreasing quality of care,
according to the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) and its Private
Practice Section.

In testimony May 8 before a hearing of the U.S. House Committee on Small
Business, Tom DiAngelis, PT, vice president of APTA's Private Practice
Section, commented that a scheduled 10.6 percent cut in Medicare physician
payments could have an especially devastating impact on PTs in private
practice, who are faced with not only the rising costs of running a small
business, but also decreases in revenue due to a variety of government payment
and policy challenges. The hearing on "Medicare Physician Fee Cuts: Can Small
Practices Survive?" provided an opportunity for the committee to examine the
potential impact of fee cuts on the practices of physicians and other allied
health professionals. Unless Congress intervenes, the cuts will go into effect
July 1, 2008, and could also have significant ramifications on the services
offered to Medicare patients, according to APTA.

"These Medicare beneficiaries are individuals who have suffered from stroke,
had joint replacements or chronic diseases that impair their ability to move,
walk and perform their daily tasks," DiAngelis testified. "Physical therapist
small businesses address these beneficiaries' health care needs throughout the
United States and contribute to the health status of our country, including
its economic health."

Physical therapists, in particular, are being hit especially hard, according
to DiAngelis. Not only will they experience the overall 10.6 percent
reduction in payment under the fee schedule, they also will be subject to an
arbitrary annual cap of $1,810 per beneficiary on outpatient services
beginning July 1.

"This cap will not save the Medicare program money," added DiAngelis. "It
would only shift the cost of care away from outpatient facilities and small
business to more costly and less efficient inpatient facilities. Small
businesses in physical therapy will be impacted as the therapy cap policy
includes an exemption for hospital outpatient departments. This exemption will
do nothing more than encourage patients to seek services in the hospital
setting to avoid having to change providers over the course of their physical
therapy treatment when they reach the cap." APTA is advocating for a repeal
of the therapy caps or an extension of the current exceptions process that
maintains access to clinically appropriate physical therapy services under
Medicare.

In addition to the problems posed by the pending payment cuts and therapy
caps, physical therapists in private practice have significant limitations on
how patients may access their services and the marketplace, DiAngelis
explained. Currently, Medicare requires that patients obtain physician
referrals to receive physical therapy, despite laws in 44 states and the
District of Columbia providing direct patient access to physical therapists.
"If the payment cuts go into effect and physicians stop taking Medicare
patients or limit the accessibility or availability of physician services,
then access to physical therapy services will be impacted as a ripple effect,"
DiAngelis added. APTA is lobbying for passage of the Medicare Patient Access
to Physical Therapist Act (HR 1552) as one strategy to provide relief to
physical therapist small businesses.

"The health care delivery system needs physical therapist small businesses to
meet patients' rehabilitation needs," testified DiAngelis. "If those needs are
unmet, then health care costs will be transferred to more intensive, costly
environments, compounding the existing crisis in health care spending.
Physical therapist small businesses are a cost-effective, efficient delivery
model for physical therapy services, and efforts to maintain and enhance this
setting are essential."

To read DiAngelis' full testimony, visit: http://www.apta.org/media.

APTA is asking its members and consumers to contact members of Congress and
urge them to prevent the implementation of policies that would severely impact
rehabilitation coverage for Medicare beneficiaries. For more information on
these and other APTA advocacy efforts, visit APTA's Patient Action Center at:
http://www.apta.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Patient_Action_Center1&Template=/TaggedPage/TaggedPageDisplay.cfm&TPLID=279&ContentID=32636.

Physical therapists are health care professionals who diagnose and manage
individuals of all ages, from newborns to elders, who have medical problems or
other health-related conditions that limit their abilities to move and perform
functional activities in their daily lives. Physical therapists examine each
individual and develop a plan of care using treatment techniques to promote
the ability to move, reduce pain, restore function, and prevent disability.
Physical therapists also work with individuals to prevent the loss of mobility
by developing fitness- and wellness-oriented programs for healthier and more
active lifestyles.

The Private Practice Section of APTA represents 4,200 practitioners who are
the owners or operators of physical therapy private practices.

The American Physical Therapy Association (http://www.apta.org) is a national
organization representing physical therapists, physical therapist assistants,
and students nationwide. Its goal is to foster advancements in physical
therapist education, practice, and research. Consumers can visit
http://www.findapt.us to find a physical therapist in their area, as well as
http://www.apta.org/consumer for physical therapy news and information.

SOURCE American Physical Therapy Association

Stephanie Block of American Physical Therapy Association, +1-703-706-3397,
stephanieblock@apta.org