President's Message
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Greetings VPTA members,
Hopefully, by the time that you are reading this, the fall temperatures will be in full swing. The VPTA has been buzzing with activities, planning the upcoming PT Political Action event on November 8th and the Fall Summit on November 9th. I hope you have been seeing the email blasts introducing the great speaker/educational lineup. We look forward to selling out the events, and we want to thank you in advance for your participation.
The Fall Summit will be held at South University. The PT-PAC event will be held at InMotion PT - West End in Richmond. Space is limited, so sign up soon! If you are not able to attend the PT-PAC event, please consider donating. Donations to this cause are the only funds that can be utilized to facilitate our legislative agenda, which includes managing the impact and expectations of Medicaid expansion, getting our elected representatives to assist us with the undue administrative burdens of utilization management, assisting us with Direct Access expansion, fair co-pay legislation (PTs are primary care providers), limiting scope of practice infringement and more. As you can see, and I am sure you can feel, there are lots of issues and opportunities in front of the PT profession, and this is the singular state-wide vehicle to address them.
CMS
There will be lots to discuss, as the CMS final ruling will have been published by the time that fall summit kicks off. APTA has done a very good job of making sure that we all have the ability to exercise our voice and provide comments to CMS. Simply go to the Take Regulatory Action page on the APTA website for templates to modify or feel free to write a letter to CMS yourself. The current proposed rules have inferences that impact each member, so please make sure that your voice is heard. This is good timing, as this should coincide with the work the VPTA has done with the Virginia Board of PT on new regulations for dry needling provided by PTs in the state.
Welcome to Student Members
PT and PTA students, Welcome to the VPTA! I realize for some of you this is the first Virginian that you have received. These messages are delivered every other month and are designed to provide you with timely and hopefully useful information. If you have a topic that you would like to see covered or have an interest in writing please contact the VPTA at vpta@vpta.org. The fastest way to get value out of a professional organization is consistent involvement. I look forward to seeing some of you at the 2019 student conclave on November 9th.
State Policy and Payment Forum
The VPTA was well represented at the 2019 Policy and Payment Forum. A full day dedicated to advocacy, policy, and payment initiatives provided great insight and direction for the future of our profession. Keep an eye out for this information on our website. Thanks to Tom Bohannon (Government Affairs), Marie Stravlo (Executive Director), Ron Masri (Payment Chair), Mark Bouziane (Vice President), Behnaz Struthers (Board member), Geoff Gunther (State Legislative Chair) and Ben Keeton (newly appointed to Payer Relations) for volunteering your time to assist the VPTA. Member engagement is the key for organizational success!
Sincerely,
Josh Bailey, PT, DPT
President
