Currently, 48 states and the District of Columbia (DC) allow physical therapists to evaluate patients without a prior physician's referral and 44 states and DC improve accessibility further by allowing physical therapists to evaluate and treat, under certain conditions, patients without a referral from a physician. Use the resources on this page to contact Congress about this important issue.

Medicare Patient Access to Physical Therapists Act of 2009

Current Bill Numbers:

• HR 1829 - Latest Major Action: Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on Ways and Means
• S 950 - Latest Major Action: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance

Updates and Resources

Letters of Support

Direct Access FAQ (.pdf) - 4/27/09

Position Paper-Medicare Direct Access (.pdf) - 7/14/09

Section by Section Summary (.pdf) - 2/27/09

APTA Press Release on S 950 (.pdf) - 5/6/09

APTA Press Release on HR 1829 (.pdf) - 4/1/09

What you Can Do

Contact your elected officials using our Legislative Action Center.

Get your patients active to access Physical Therapy Services! Provide the information for those who cannot use the Patient Action Center. The Direct Access Patient Bulletin and Sample Patient Letter are great ways to make the process easier for patients.

If you'd like to get more updates on this and future legislation dealing with Medicare Direct Access, join our PTeam today!

What Patients Can Do

Your patients are impacted by many policies and provide an important perspective on the issues. Patients can contact Congress through APTA's Patient Access Center.

[Last updated: 11/06/09 | Contact: advocacy@apta.org]