Category Archives: Uncategorized

New Physical Therapy Bill Introduced

On Monday Senator Jon Tester (D-MT) and Senator Roger Wicker (R-MS) introduced the APTA-supported legislation Physical Therapist Workforce and Patient Access Act (S. 2676).This legislation would allow physical therapists to participate in the National Health Service Corps Loan Repayment Program. The program involves 2 year contract to work in a health professional shortage area inContinue reading “New Physical Therapy Bill Introduced”

Medicare Sequestration Moratorium Extended

This afternoon the U.S. Senate passed a compromise bill led by Senator Shaheen (D-NH) and Senator Susan Collins (R-ME) to extend the moratorium on the Medicare Sequestration. The Senate compromise bill will provide a 9-month extension of the moratorium on the -2% Medicare sequester through the end of 2021.  While we await official word fromContinue reading “Medicare Sequestration Moratorium Extended”

The new conversion factor released by CMS helps to offset the impact of fee schedule reductions for PT providers.

What began as a projected 9% cut in payment to PTs under Medicare and was later reduced to an estimated 3.6% cut may be whittled down even further thanks to a recently announced change to how payment is calculated. The change comes by way of an adjustment to the conversion factor, the multiplier applied to relativeContinue reading “The new conversion factor released by CMS helps to offset the impact of fee schedule reductions for PT providers.”

Update on the Proposed 9% CMS Reimbursement Cut

Because of your work, Congress reduced the cut from 9% to an estimated 3.6%.  The fight continues and we are immensely grateful for the over 120,000 emails to Congress, taking every opportunity to raise your voice with legislators, and sending over 25,000 comments to CMS.  This campaign has been enormous and we are appreciative of yourContinue reading “Update on the Proposed 9% CMS Reimbursement Cut”

Win: CMS Will Lift Several Code Pairing Restrictions

After an on-again, off-again approach to rules affecting the billing of code pairs that represent common, appropriate physical therapy practice, the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has announced it will accept many of the pairs it had barred for use, or required to be accompanied a modifier if they were used on theContinue reading “Win: CMS Will Lift Several Code Pairing Restrictions”

New Legislation Targets Medicare Payment Cuts

A bipartisan effort to avoid proposed cuts to Medicare payments in 2021 has been launched: On Oct. 30, Reps. Ami Bera, MD, D-Calif., and Larry Bucshon, MD, R-Ind., introduced legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives that would add funding to Medicare and direct CMS to essentially reset payment to 2020 levels for the 37Continue reading “New Legislation Targets Medicare Payment Cuts”

Department of Labor revises regulations that implemented the FFCRA paid sick leave and expanded family and medical leave provisions

Background The Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA or Act) requires certain employers (generally those who employ fewer than 500 employees) to provide employees with paid sick leave or expanded family and medical leave for specified reasons related to COVID-19. The Department of Labor’s (Department) Wage and Hour Division (WHD) administers and enforces the new law’s paid leaveContinue reading “Department of Labor revises regulations that implemented the FFCRA paid sick leave and expanded family and medical leave provisions”