Ultimately, the damaging payment cuts and flawed PTA differential system being proposed in the 2022 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule are about patient access. If the rule is adopted as proposed, beneficiaries can anticipate reduced access to needed care, just as communities struggle with recovery from the effects of a pandemic.

Now there's an easy way for patients to get involved in advocacy to preserve access.

APTA offers an online flyer that includes a QR code to make the process of sending comments to the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services as simple as possible: Just print out the flyer, post copies where you think they'll be noticed, and encourage everyone to grab the QR code with their phones and follow the simple instructions from there.

Remember, anyone can submit comments to CMS, not just PTs and their patients. Print out multiple copies of the flyer and post everywhere it might get noticed — at the clinic, on campus, on community bulletin boards, and in other public spaces. The stakes are high. Our voices make a difference.

Have you let CMS know how the proposed 2022 fee schedule falls short? Do it now, or join PTs, PTAs, students, and supporters from across the country at 9 a.m. ET on Sept. 1 for a #FightTheCut virtual rally (or better yet — do both!).