Your physical therapists (PT) and the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) are lobbying Congress to make sure that the therapy services you receive remain covered by Medicare. As Congress continues its attempts to rein in Medicare costs, it is important for you to join in the fight and let your voice be heard on Capitol Hill!  You can help protect your physical therapy benefits by telling your local U.S. Congressman and U.S. Senators to pass legislation to extend the Medicare therapy cap exceptions process beyond December 31, 2010.

 

Background:

The Medicare therapy cap discriminates against Medicare beneficiaries who most need care. The therapy cap is a financial limit that has been placed on the amount of therapy services Medicare will cover.  In 2010, it caps coverage of outpatient rehabilitation services to $1,860 for physical therapy and speech language pathology services and $1,860 for occupational therapy services. Not all patients will exceed the cap, but Medicare beneficiaries who suffer from a stroke, have Parkinson's disease, osteoporosis or multiple instances of care are very likely to need more treatment than the cap permits.  It is not fair to force those who need care the most to choose between paying out of pocket for care or traveling to an outpatient hospital setting. 

 

Congress has recognized the problem with the cap on therapy services in the past. Since the therapy caps were passed by Congress in the Balanced Budget Act of 1997, Congress has passed several moratoriums to keep the therapy caps from going into effect and harming Medicare beneficiaries.  On March 23, 2010, Congress passed an extension of the therapy cap exceptions process which allowed Medicare beneficiaries needing care above the cap to apply for an exception to get the care they need.  However, this exceptions process is only authorized through December 31, 2010!  Congress needs to provide a more long term solution and protect Medicare beneficiaries by extending the exceptions process beyond December 31 or completely repealing the caps. 

 

What You Can Do:

 

It is important that you send a strong message to your Members of Congress and request that they pass legislation to extend the Medicare therapy cap exceptions process beyond December 31, 2010!