In Case You Missed It – The Fight is On … Again!

The following letter was posted on August 2, 2021 by APTA President, Sharon L. Dunn, PT, PhD: 

The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is once again proposing payment cuts to Medicare outpatient services, cuts that threaten patients' ability to access needed care and our ability to provide it. Physical therapy isn't alone in these sweeping cuts — some three-dozen other health care professions are affected as well, some worse than ours.

Last year, late intervention by Congress was the only thing that diminished CMS' plans to implement an estimated average 9% cut to physical therapy payment in 2021. Thanks to grassroots activism by our members, Congress appropriated an additional $3 billion to the Medicare fee schedule that reduced the cut to approximately 3.3%.

Without a change in course from CMS or congressional intervention again, the cuts will continue in 2022. CMS is also planning to move ahead with a plan that would reduce payment rates for outpatient therapy services delivered by PTAs and OTAs under Medicare Part B by 15% — the "differential."

It’s time for the APTA community to do everything we can to advocate for our patients and our profession, both on Capitol Hill and at CMS.

You can help by learning the history behind the issues and then making your voice heard through our action centers. Membership matters. Your voice matters – and we are better together in our advocacy.

Best, 

Sharon L. Dunn, PT, PhD
Board-Certified Orthopaedic Clinical Specialist
APTA President

Take Action

• Send Your Comments to CMS on the proposed fee schedule cut using the APTA Template
• Send Your Comments to CMS about the PTA differential using the APTA Template
• Contact Congress to Fight the Cuts
• Additional resources: APTA Medicare Physician Fee Schedule Advocacy Page

Latest Information

• News: APTA, Other Provider Groups, Urge Congress to Take Action on Payment Cuts, PTA Differential
•  Podcast: An Early Look at the Proposed 2022 Fee Schedule
• APTA Regulatory Review: Proposed 2022 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule
• The PTA Differential Just Doesn't Add Up — Especially for Patients

History of the Fight

• Background: The CMS Payment Cuts
• How the Payment Cuts Work, and What Happened in 2020
• The PTA Differential: How We Got Here, and What's Next