Self-Referral

APTA supports excluding physical therapy services from the in-office ancillary services exception (IOAS) under the physician self-referral prohibition (commonly referred to as the Stark law). The expansive use of the IOAS exception by physicians in a manner not originally contemplated by the law undercuts the purpose of the law and substantially increases costs to the Medicare program and its beneficiaries.

APTA believes that this issue should be addressed as part of any fundamental delivery system reform and that it could provide cost savings to help support reform. APTA is a also a founding member of the Alliance for Integrity in Medicine (AIM) Coalition, a consortium of organizations which advocates for Congress to address the IOAS loophole.

More information will be posted here as it becomes available. Check back frequently for updates. If you'd like additional updates on this and other legislative issues, join PTeam today or contact APTA's advocacy department at advocacy@apta.org.

How to Take Action

Take Action Online

APTA Members: Go to APTA's Legislative Action Center, click "Take Action" under "Support the Promoting Integrity in Medicare Act and Help Close the Physical Therapy IOASE," and follow the instructions.

Nonmember PTs/PTAs and Patients: E-mail your legislators using our Patient Action Center.

Meet With Your Member of Congress

Prepare for your meeting by accessing our policy resources below. (Bring copies of these documents for your member of Congress and their staff.)

Also, check the cosponsor lists below to see if your legislator is a cosponsor of the current legislation. If the legislator is a cosponsor, thank him/her for their support. If the legislator is not a cosponsor, ask him/her to cosponsor the bill.

Finally, contact APTA's government affairs department via advocacy@apta.org prior to your meeting. APTA staff can help you prepare and provide useful background information.

Policy Resources

• Position Paper: Promoting Integrity in Medicare Act (HR 2914) (Self-Referral) (.pdf)

Current Cosponsors

• HR 2914

General Information

• Self-Referral 101 (.pdf)
• New Legislation Seeks to Curb Physician Referral-for-Profit - 8/1/13
• APTA Statement Supporting Proposal in President’s Budget to Address Self-Referral - 4/11/13
• Senate Finance Report: Opportunities to Curb Waste, Fraud and Abuse in Medicare and Medicaid (.pdf) - 1/20/13

Summaries

• APTA Summary on Senate Finance Waste Fraud and Abuse Response (.pdf) - 2/5/12

Related Resources

• Bipartisan Groups Support Closing Self-Referral Loophole (.pdf)

  Alliance for Integrity in Medicare (AIM)

• Senate Finance Report: Opportunities to Curb Waste, Fraud and Abuse in Medicare and Medicaid (.pdf)
• Report: Higher Use of Costly Prostate Cancer Treatment by Providers Who Self-Refer Warrants Scrutiny

  US Government Accountability Office (GAO) - July 19, 2013

• Report: Action Needed to Address Higher Use of Anatomic Pathology Services by Providers Who Self-Refer

  US Government Accountability Office (GAO) - June 24, 2013

• Report: Higher Use of Advanced Imaging Services by Providers Who Self-Refer Costing Medicare Millions

  US Government Accountability Office (GAO) - September 28, 2012

• Last Updated: 9/12/2013
• Contact: advocacy@apta.org
• = Members Only