APTQI Members Host Spring Clinic Tours and Advocate for Legislation to Improve Access to Physical Therapy
As we wrap up the Spring portion of our 2024 Practice Tour Program, APTQI is proud to have hosted Members of Congress for local practice tours and facilitated conversations with patients, clinic owners, and seasoned physical therapists. In March and April, lawmakers and their staff toured eight APTQI member clinics across the country, meeting with patients and providers to discuss legislative issues impacting the physical therapy community and patient care. By engaging with the physical therapy and occupational therapy community, lawmakers and their staff were able to learn more about the challenges, and opportunities, facing physical therapy practices and the patients they serve.
APTQI would like to recognize lawmakers and their staff across the country who participated in these tours including representatives of Senators Steve Daines (MT), Marsha Blackburn (TN), Mark Warner (VA), Mike Crapo (ID), and Representative Melanie Stansbury (NM-01). Thank you to APTQI member companies who hosted these tours specifically: PTA Physical Therapy in Kalispell, MT, STAR Physical Therapy in Franklin, TN, The Jackson Clinics in Ashburn, VA, Wright Physical Therapy in Twin Falls, ID, and ATI Physical Therapy in Albuquerque, NM.
During the tours, APTQI members advocated for two key pieces of legislation: the Stopping Addiction and Falls for the Elderly (SAFE) Act (H.R. 7618) and the Remove Duplicative Unnecessary Clerical Exchanges (REDUCE) Act (H.R. 7279).
The SAFE Act recognizes physical therapists as experts in senior fall prevention and aims to bolster patient safety by allowing Medicare beneficiaries to receive a no cost fall risk assessment from a physical or occupational therapist as part of their Annual Wellness Benefit. To ask your member of Congress to help prevent harmful senior falls and support the SAFE Act, click here.
The REDUCE Act seeks to streamline access to physical and occupational therapy services by eliminating burdensome paperwork requirements. By removing the necessity for physician referrals and plans of care for every patient, this legislation enhances patient access to essential therapies, fostering more efficient and patient-centric care delivery models. To ask your member of Congress to help ensure access to therapy services by supporting the REDUCE Act, click here.
APTQI looks forward to continuing our clinic tours this summer in new districts throughout the nation.
Staff from Sen. Blackburn’s office visited STAR Physical Therapy in Franklin, TN:
Wright Physical Therapy in Twin Falls, ID welcomed staff from Sen. Crapo’s office:
Staff from Rep. Stansbury’s office met with physical therapists from ATI Physical Therapy in Albuquerque, NM:
Representatives from Senator Steve Daines’ office toured PTA Physical Therapy in Kalispell, MT:
Senator Mark Warner sent staff to The Jackson Clinics in Ashburn, VA:
