Comments

• In the letter I believe it would be beneficial to address an apparent misunderstanding of what the bill is for. The editor makes it sound like Ther Ex is billed for a single exercise, rather than a unit of time. Same for Manual Tech. Also an Initial Eval is an untimed charge, which it would help to clarify. Boyd

  Posted by Boyd Etter on 9/22/2012 8:04 PM

• For the knowledge that the APTA has about our profession, and the well spoken people I assume they have on staff, I am surprised this response was not more informative to the public. I think this is why people don't want to pay APTA dues. I think this response was not strong enough in our defense.

  Posted by Dr. Kristin Terkelsen on 9/23/2012 9:14 PM

• While I understand the issue of the inadequate reimbursement (often not enough to cover expenses) for our professional services...the 2 most important points were overlooked!!! FIRST, the POPTS is charging outrageously more for the PT services...I have personally witnessed a friend going to a private practice whose reimbursement for (1)manual therapy, (1)ther ex, and (1)modality was $60 from UHC...then went to the POPTS whose reimbursement for the exact same 3 codes was $143. While this is not Medicare, it is a huge drain on our healthcare system. It also stands to put private practice out of business...I have no problem competing on a level playing field, because we provide excellent care...but these unadressed arrangements place private practices at a disadvantage. Without private practice, PT's will soon have little say about what happens with our own profession. SECOND, while I have great respect for the PTA...most of our patients have been to multiple facilities without improvement...they were seen mostly by aides but also sometimes by a PTA without the proper direction of a PT...the ability of a POPTS or corporation to misuse the PTA's license to run large numbers of patients through provides a money stream for the owner, but does little for the patients or our profession. Before anyone gets offended, I am not stating this is always the case, but I have been around a long time in many different practice settings and I have seen how often it is the case...we need to get serious about addressing these issues!

  Posted by Patti on 9/24/2012 2:48 PM