Medicare Announces Expanded Payment Program for Healthcare Providers
Recently, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced a significant expansion of its accelerated and advanced payment program for healthcare providers serving Medicare beneficiaries. The announcement comes as the COVID-19 pandemic places unprecedented stress on countless provider communities across the country, including physical therapists. The expansion, which includes changes from the Coronavirus, Aid,…
Action Needed to Protect Therapy Patients During COVID-19
As the COVID-19 outbreak continues to spread and communities are increasingly practicing social distancing, seniors who rely on physical and occupational therapy services to manage their chronic and acute pain are at risk of losing access to necessary care. Fortunately, Congress can help. By allowing Medicare reimbursement for physical and occupational therapy services provided through…
Physical Therapy is a Proven Solution to Falls Among the Elderly
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 30 million elderly Americans fall every year – a figure representing roughly one-quarter of all seniors. This problem is only expected to worsen as America’s population grows older, underscoring the valuable role physical therapy can play in addressing this epidemic. Physical therapy treatments enable seniors to…
APTQI Welcomes Raintree Systems as First Strategic Partner
We are pleased to welcome Raintree Systems as the organization’s first Strategic Partner. Through its strategic partnership, Raintree will work with APTQI to affect positive legislative and regulatory change to support the future of the physical therapy profession. In its capacity as a Strategic Partner, Raintree professionals will support APTQI advocacy efforts, take part in…
Success! CMS Reverses Coding Changes in Response to Physical Therapist Concerns
In January, we asked for your help in reaching out to the National Correct Coding Initiative (NCCI) Contractor to remove new edits that were made to the NCCI Procedure-to-Procedure (PTP). The edits, if implemented as written, would have harmed patients by restricting a physical therapist’s ability to provide treatment during a patient’s first visit. You…
Danger Ahead: More Medicare Cuts in 2021
In the 2020 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule Final Rule, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services indicated it intends to impose an estimated 8% payment cut to seniors’ therapy services in 2021. This cut, coupled with a series of payment reductions in recent years, will undermine patient access to the care they need and will…