Rehabilitation Research and Medicare Locum Tenens for PTs Included in 21st Century Cures Legislation! Contact Your Legislators and Tell Them to Support Today!
THE CURRENT SITUATION
As many of you may know, members of Congress introduced an amended version of the 21st Century Cures legislation (H.R. 34) late last week. This bill, which was introduced in the House at the beginning of 2015 and saw a Senate companion later in the year, has been the focus of many members of the House and Senate as it has broad implications for the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), National Institutes of Health (NIH) and medical research in general.
Great news from an APTA standpoint, the amended version of the legislation incorporates several APTA supported bills, including:
- Rehabilitation Research (Enhancing the Stature and Visibility of Medical Rehabilitation Research at NIH Act, H.R. 1631/S. 800)- Section 2040 titled “Improving Medical Rehabilitation Research at the National Institutes of Health,” would improve coordination of rehabilitation research across all of the institutes at NIH by requiring the organization to develop a comprehensive rehabilitation research plan, update the plan no less than every 5 year and provide statutory requirements for collaboration with other agenices.
- Medicare Locum Tenens for PTs (Prevent Interruptions in Physical Therapy Act, H.R. 556/S. 313)- Section 16006 titled “Allowing Physical Therapists to Utilize Locum Tenens Arrangements Under Medicare,” would allow physical therapists to enter in to locum tenens arrangements and thereby bring in another licensed physical therapy during a temporary absence to ensure continuity of care for patients. The provision in the 21st Century Cures bill utilizes the amended Senate legislation meaning locum tenens arrangements could only be utilized by PTs in medically underserved areas (MUAs), health professional shortage areas (HPSAs) or rural areas.
- Section 4013 titled “Telehealth Services in Medicare” would require the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to provide a report to Congress regarding the expansion of telehealth services under the Medicare program and the impact doing so may have. Specifically, the report would highlight patient populations whose care could improve through telehealth expansion, types of high volume services under Medicare that may be suitable to be furnished utilizing telehealth and barriers that may prevent expansion of telehealth services. Additionally, there is a sense of Congress within the section that stipulates that there should be an expansion of originating sites beyond what is currently in statute.
While this legislative package seems to be a priority for many members of Congress, including leadership in both the House and the Senate, there have been many reports of controversy surrounding specific provisions within the legislation and the short window of time for negotiations and passage. Because of this, it is imperative you call your members of Congress (scheduled for vote in House on Wednesday) and let them know they need to support the amended 21st Century Cures legislation as it impacts the profession of physical therapy and the millions of patients that rely on rehabilitative services across the Country.
WHAT YOU CAN DO – CALL YOUR HOUSE REPRESENTATIVE AND SENATORS AND ASK FOR THE HEALTH LEGISLATIVE ASSISTANT:
Congresswoman Diana DeGette – (202) 225-4431
Senator Cory Gardner – (202) 224-5941
Senator Michael Bennet – (202) 224-5852
MESSAGE:
- Very Important: Request the legislative staff have their legislator support the amended 21st Century Cures legislation because of the impact the bill (provisions within) has on the profession of physical therapy and millions of lives that rely on rehabilitative services.
Please call your legislators TODAY and ask them to support continuity of care for physical therapy patients, better coordination of rehabilitation research and the expansion of telehealth services under Medicare by voting in favor of the amended 21stCentury Cures legislation.
Feel free to contact Ken Sprague at kensprague@apta.org or 703-706-8509 with any questions you may have.
