Washington, DC – Congress has a vital opportunity to reinstate critical therapy services that have run out for hundreds of thousands of the nation’s most vulnerable citizens, causing extreme hardship for patients, providers and therapists the American Health Care Association (AHCA) said today. The long term care group urged the Senate to vote in favor of reinstating the exceptions process for Medicare Part B outpatient therapy services.
“We must ensure that all Americans have access to critical rehabilitative services they need and deserve,” stated Bruce Yarwood, President and CEO of AHCA. “Our Congressional champions understand patients’ care needs are not arbitrary and it is unfortunate that the present statute capping therapy services is based on cost but not based on care considerations.”
The hundreds of thousands of individuals who will – or the thousands that already have – exceeded their arbitrary financial limit on physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech-language pathology services are suffering, Yarwood stated. The present statute imposing the caps hinders critical therapy services, which aid patients in reaching the highest level of functioning possible.
“These uninformed financial limits harm the most fragile of populations, cutting off crucial therapy services that are needed to improve their conditions and allow them to continue receiving the care they need and deserve,” Yarwood concluded. “We thank those Senators who have led the fight in Congress to protect Medicare beneficiaries’ access to critical rehabilitative services they need and deserve, and urge others to join them.”
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.