Washington, DC – Afflicted patients and provider groups joined together to bring a unified message to Congress today – immediately reinstate the exceptions process for Medicare Part B outpatient therapy services. In less than sixty days, tens of thousands of individuals exceeded their arbitrary financial limit on therapy services, putting their health in jeopardy, with more hitting the cap everyday.
At a press conference on Capitol Hill, a coalition of over forty groups representing patients and providers led the fight in opposing this bad public policy. The speakers illustrated that the present statute governing the caps hinders critical therapy services, which aids patients in reaching the highest level of functioning possible.
Dr. Eric Aldrich, the president of the board of directors of the Mid-Atlantic Affiliate of the American Heart Association and American Stroke Association and an associate professor of neurology and physical medicine and rehabilitation at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, spoke on behalf of Medicare beneficiaries who have suffered a stroke and have been forced to suspend or reduce their medically-necessary therapy when they near or exhaust their financial caps. “Now that Congress has provided some immediate relief to Medicare beneficiaries being affected by the caps, it is critical to extend the exceptions process for the longer term to allow these individuals to have the peace of mind that therapy services will be there when they need them.”
"This short term reprieve of the cap is welcome. However, our advocacy efforts on behalf of our patients continue for a long-term solution to the therapy cap," said Justin Moore, PT, DPT, Vice President of Government and Advocacy at the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA).
John Schall, Deputy Chief Executive Officer of the Parkinson’s Action Network highlighted the key role therapy plays for those who are afflicted by Parkinson’s disease. “Our Congressional champions understand that patients’ care needs are not arbitrary—in many cases, we are talking about the ability to walk or the ability to swallow. It is unfortunate that the present statute capping therapy services is based on cost rather than based on care considerations.”
“These uninformed financial limits harm the most fragile of populations, cutting off crucial therapy services that are needed to help live life to its fullest and allow them to continue receiving the care they need and deserve,” stated Tim Nanof, Federal Affairs Manager of the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA).
"We would like to thank Members of Congress who have worked to protect Medicare beneficiaries' access to critical rehabilitative services and urge them to continue the fight towards a permanent solution to the therapy caps," stated Tommie L. Robinson, Jr. PhD, CCC-SLP, and President of the American Speech-Language Hearing Association (ASHA).
As the nation’s largest association of long term and post-acute care providers, the American Health Care Association (AHCA) advocates for quality care and services for frail, elderly and disabled Americans. Compassionate and caring employees provide essential care to one million individuals in our 11,000 not-for-profit and proprietary member facilities.