Bipartisan Group of Lawmakers Urge CMS to Stop Severe Cuts to Physical Therapy

This week, Representatives Bobby Rush, Gus Bilirakis, and 73 of their House colleagues sent a letter to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) urging the agency not to finalize the cuts to specialty care providers included in the proposed 2022 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (PFS).

The proposed rule includes plans to levy a 3.5% cut for therapy services in CY2022, eventually adding up to a steep 9% payment cut by 2024. If finalized, these cuts will add to a string of payment cuts the physical therapy sector has incurred over previous years.

Therapy services represent one of the best values in health care: Seniors use physical therapy to manage their pain without opioids, decrease their fall risks, and avoid costly hospital and surgical encounters. Medicare should be encouraging this type of care instead of limiting it through ongoing payment cuts.

We applaud Representatives Rush and Bilirakis for their continued leadership on this issue, and we thank the 73 Representatives in the House who signed this letter.

This effort would not be possible without advocates like you. Over the past month, physical therapy advocates sent more than 1,000 emails to 282 lawmakers in the House urging them to sign this letter. As we continue to fight these cuts, your voice will be critical to our sector’s success!