I was working as a physical therapy technician when Congress instituted the Medicare cap on therapy services on January 1, 1999. I was to graduate as a physical therapist assistant (PTA) in May of that year, and, at that time, I had no idea or even much concern about what the cap would mean for our profession or my career.

I heard horror stories about layoffs of physical therapists (PTs) and PTAs due to the payment changes, but as a new graduate I was focused solely on finding a job in my chosen profession. It was not until years later, when I began working in outpatient care and seeing problems with payment, that I realized the importance of getting involved with advocacy.