This past February was the CSM event in Houston, Texas and APTA Hawaii president Michelle Dela Cruz was very thankful to be able to attend. There are a few updates she received while there that are valuable to all of our members.
1.) The American Board of Physical Therapy Specialties has granted preliminary approval to a petition, submitted through APTA’s Federal Physical Therapy Section, for the recognition of primary care as a specialty area for certification. As part of the next phase in the petition process, ABPTS will hosted a virtual open hearing on March 10, 12:00 – 1:30 pm ET to provide an opportunity for physical therapy professionals, other healthcare professionals, and the public to offer oral or written testimony regarding the Primary Care Petition.
Additionally, written testimony in support of or opposition to the petition may be submitted by any individual or group to Derek Stepp at derekstepp@apta.org by March 19, 2025.
2.) APTA and association partners are aggressively lobbying to ensure that PTs remain authorized telehealth providers under Medicare. As many members are aware, the telehealth flexibilities that Congress afforded to Medicare were set to expire at the end of 2024. However, Congress provided an extension of those policies that is now set to expire on March 31, 2025. At present, Congress is crafting a Continuing Resolution (CR) to keep the government funded to avoid a partial government shutdown before the federal government’s spending authority will cease on March 15th. APTA and coalition partners are working to get a telehealth extension provision secured in the CR to keep PTs (and others) as authorized telehealth providers for as long as possible, while we also continue to push for a permanent policy.
There is broad bipartisan support for telehealth. Congress is considering providing an extension on telehealth ranging from another six months to two years. On February 24, 2025, APTA joined over 100 organizations in a letter to the U.S. Congress urging them to extend the current Medicare telehealth flexibilities in the upcoming spending package; Congress must extend the current telehealth flexibilities before they expire on March 31, 2025.
Concurrently members of Congress are introducing legislation to make Medicare coverage of telehealth permanent. On February 25th, H.R. 1614 was introduced in the U.S. House. by Reps. Mike Kelly (R-PA), Adrian Smith (R-NE), and Mike Thompson (D-CA), to make PTs, OTs, and SLPs permanent, rather than temporary, authorized providers of telehealth in Medicare. APTA endorsed this bill in the previous Congress and will support it again in the 119th Congress. Separately, Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) introduced the Telehealth Coverage Act (bill number not yet available) just last week. This bill would make permanent all the telehealth policies and flexibilities granted to Medicare during the pandemic which would include establishing PTs as permanent providers.
We will keep members updated on these fast-moving developments. In the interim please let us know if you have any questions.
3.). APTA is releasing two reports related to the adequacy of the physical therapy workforce in the U.S. The first is an article published in PTJ: Physical Therapy & Rehabilitation Journal that projects supply and demand for PT services from 2022-2037. Authors used APTA member survey data, as well as data from the Federation of State Boards of Physical Therapy, national and state population projections, the American Community Survey, and other data to project the number of PTs working and the demand for PT services in the future. The microsimulation is run under various scenarios, such as more or fewer DPT graduates entering the profession and earlier or delayed retirement for PT workers. The key takeaway: All forecasts, including the baseline and five alternative scenarios, project a physical therapist shortage for most years from 2022 to 2037. By 2037, demand for physical therapy services is expected to grow by 14.7%, outpacing the population growth rate of 8%. The APTA companion report to the PTJ article describes future research needs that will allow for more accurate estimates and forecasts, including of PTAs, while also sharing results from the APTA 2024 Workforce Survey and the supply and demand forecasts, with alternative forecasts using varied assumptions.
As a member of PPAC, you will appreciate the section on current policy initiatives – both state and federal – that could address PT shortages. To learn more about the reports, sign up now for an APTA Live event, “Understanding the APTA Workforce Forecast Model: Insights and Discussion with Authors,” on May 1, 10:30 a.m. ET, in person (limited availability) or online.
Both the PTJ article and the APTA report will be published on Monday, March 3. Select groups will be notified of the report’s publication in advance, and promotion to all APTA members will begin on March 4. We ask that you not share copies of the reports before Monday.
4.) The Prevent Interruptions in Physical Therapy Act (H.R. 1517) has been reintroduced in the U.S. House of Representatives. This bipartisan APTA-supported legislation would allow physical therapists in all geographical regions to enter locum tenens arrangements under Medicare.
Locum tenens, meaning “to hold the place of or substitute,” allows eligible providers to bring in a qualified replacement during a temporary absence for illness, pregnancy, vacation, or continuing education. Currently, locum tenens for physical therapists is allowed only in federally designated rural and underserved areas. This limitation prohibits many PTs in outpatient practice from taking needed leave without continuity of care for their patients. APTA was successful in enacting in the initial locum tenens law for rural and underserved areas in 2016, as part of the 21st Century Cures Act; H.R. 1517 would expand the ability to use locum tenens nationwide.
Expanding locum tenens under Medicare for physical therapists to all areas, will ensure uninterrupted patient care and preventing regression while allowing physical therapists flexibility. The legislation was introduced by Rep. Gus Bilirakis (D-FL) and Rep. Paul Tonko (D-NY).
Be sure to check out the press release from Rep. Bilirakis about the APTA legislation featuring a quote from APTA President Kyle Covington:
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