On July 25, 2023, both the House and the Senate introduced bipartisan bills that would “amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to ensure appropriate supervision requirements for outpatient physical therapy and outpatient occupational therapy”. These changes would provide for consistent supervision regulations across all settings where therapy is provided. You may recall in 2022, NARA along with the Therapy Coalition engaged Dobson Davanzo & Associates to provide an independent, non-partisan study of the impact of changing supervision regulations for outpatient therapy. Based on their review, this legislation is projected to be a cost savings of up to $271 million.
Both bills will allow physical therapist assistants and occupational therapy assistants to practice at the top of their license, function as they do in other therapy settings, improve access to services for beneficiaries in rural and underserved areas and reduce overall administrative burden.
Please ask your House Representative and Senator to co-sponsor these bills by taking action now! It takes just a few minutes to send a letter.
