Calling all PTA’s!
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Many of you are likely aware of the Medicare Cap Patch (vs repeal) that was signed by President Trump on February 9th, 2018. Although this ended a 20-year battle for providers to protect services to Medicare recipients, it came with a price. A single line of the nearly 600-page bill stated that in 2022, a modifier must be placed on any bill submitted for reimbursement in which a PTA participated either in whole or in part of the care. In those cases, a 15% reduction in reimbursement would be applied and this “savings” would be used to pay for the patch to the Medicare Cap. This pay-for addition to the Cap bill was surprising in that it was never part of the discussion with the APTA or others negotiating on our behalf.
The good news is that we have some time to push for clarification and also provide some feedback as it could be stated that this decision was founded on faulty logic. The troubling news is that our voice may not be loud enough. Only 8% of APTA and about 10% of VPTA members are PTAs. We need PTAs voices to be heard and to do that we must have a greater amount of PTA members. I am calling to all PTs and PTAs members to tap a couple of your coworkers that are not members and encourage them to join. This Medicare patch impacts us all regardless of setting. Now is the time to join together. Do not wait! As our APTA President is fond of saving; “We are better together.”
Josh Bailey, President
