Breckenridge, Colo. – The Colorado Chapter of the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA Colorado) recognized twelve individuals for their outstanding contributions to the physical therapy profession at their annual fall conference, held at The Village in Breckenridge. Outgoing APTA Colorado President Jill Flaherty presented the awards during a ceremony celebrating leadership, education, and advocacy in the field.

Staci Cost was honored with the Physical Therapist Educator of the Year Award for her role in advancing clinical education across Colorado. As a member of both the Regis and CU Clinical Education Advisory Boards, Cost has worked tirelessly to support students and faculty, particularly in rural areas. Her ability to navigate the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic while continuing to provide high-quality student mentorship earned her widespread recognition.

AURORA, Colo. – Dec. 17, 2023 -- Representatives from managed healthcare and insurance giant Cigna and its benefits-management contractor, American Specialty Health (ASH), met recently with APTA Colorado leaders to address various operational and communication concerns raised by APTA Colorado members.

 [Separately, APTA Colorado distributed information to assist Colorado PT clinics and clinicians in successfully working with ASH.]

American Physical Therapy Association President Roger Herr, PT, MPA, told physical therapists and physical therapist assistants gathered in Washington, D.C., today that PTs are "undervalued and underpaid" and are playing defense "when we should be playing offense."

Herr used his presidential address to tell PTs to seek new payment models "beyond the fee schedule and insurance-based models that have dominated our practice and created a dependence that is unsustainable for our next generation."

APTA Colorado Featured Member Profile Blog Series 

APTA Colorado is excited to announce our Featured Member Profile, a blog series dedicated to introducing you to APTA Colorado members and sharing the incredible work physical therapists are doing throughout our state. If you are interested in being featured in the future, please click here to learn more! 

Fast facts about our latest featured member! 

On February 1, 2017, a judge in the so-called Jimmo case ordered the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to enter into a Corrective Action Plan (CAP). The CAP requires CMS to provide more education about the addition of a coverage standard for maintenance therapy. That is, CMS is required to provide additional education to providers regarding the fact that improvement is not required in order to be eligible for Medicare coverage for skilled care in skilled nursing facilities (SNFs), home health agencies (HHAs), outpatient therapy centers and inpatient rehabilitation hospitals.

The latest ruling is based on a ruling in the Jimmo case on August 17, 2016, in which the Court found that CMS did not comply with part of the Settlement Agreement entered into in 2013 that required CMS to engage in a nationwide education plan regarding the revised standard of coverage. Advocates for Medicare beneficiaries in the case claimed that the educational campaign conducted by CMS "was so confusing and inadequate that little had changed." They concluded that the educational campaign to date had not been "adequate, timely, or complete."