Medicare requires patients to obtain a referral from a physician to see a therapist...well it rolls downhill....less physicians seeing Medicare patients, less rehabilitation without the referral...and if the bill for rehab services is over the cap, well we all know what happens then....BD
Physical therapists, in particular, are being hit especially hard, according to DiAngelis. Not only will they experience the overall 10.6 percent reduction in payment under the fee schedule, they also will be subject to an arbitrary annual cap of $1,810 per beneficiary on outpatient services beginning July 1.
"This cap will not save the Medicare program money," added DiAngelis. "It would only shift the cost of care away from outpatient facilities and small business to more costly and less efficient inpatient facilities. Small businesses in physical therapy will be impacted as the therapy cap policy includes an exemption for hospital outpatient departments. This exemption will do nothing more than encourage patients to seek services in the hospital setting to avoid having to change providers over the course of their physical therapy treatment when they reach the cap." APTA is advocating for a repeal of the therapy caps or an extension of the current exceptions process that maintains access to clinically appropriate physical therapy services under Medicare.
0 comments :
Post a Comment