APTA Pelvic Health Members: Call Congress Today Regarding 9% Cut

Though over 52,000 letters have been sent to Capitol Hill against proposed cuts to physical therapy services, time is of the essence to call on Congress to stop the cuts. We need you to call your members of Congress today.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ proposed 2021 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule includes deep cuts in payment to over 35 health care providers. Physical therapy services are slated for a 9% cut. If this cut becomes reality, it will devastate patient access to care and will shutter countless small businesses. CMS is ignoring the concerns expressed by patients, multiple health care groups, and some members of Congress about these proposed cuts — so it’s time for Congress to intervene.

Below are the numbers for your representative and senators (based on your APTA membership record) as well as a script you can use for your phone calls. When you call, please ask to speak to the staff member in charge of healthcare issues. If they are unavailable, you can still leave the below message with the person you talk to.

Representative Congressman Don Beyer (202) 225-4376

Senate 1 Senator Tim Kaine (202) 224-4024

Senate 2 Senator Mark Warner (202) 224-2023

SAMPLE CALL SCRIPT

My name is YOUR NAME and I’m from YOUR CITY AND STATE. Thank you for your work during these challenging times.

Physical therapy is slated for a 9% cut in the 2021 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule. This cut is unsustainable, especially given the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. If this cut goes into effect on January 1^st, many Medicare patients will find it hard to access physical therapy services.

Therapists, clinics, and rehabilitation facilities are struggling to stay open, particularly in rural and underserved areas. Now is not the time to implement payment cuts that will negatively impact patient access to care for Medicare beneficiaries. In addition, many other public and commercial insurance plans follow Medicare’s lead. So these cuts will impact Tricare and veteran’s health, as well as commercial plans like Blue Cross Blue Shield, Aetna, and United Health Care.

The only way to prevent these cuts from being implemented on January 1, 2021 is for Congress to intervene. I ask that, in any upcoming and relevant legislation moving through Congress, you support inclusion of language that stop these deep Medicare cuts from being implemented.  Thank you for your consideration and have a good day.

END OF CALL SCRIPT

Thank you for your advocacy and for being a member of APTA!  Questions? Let us know at advocacy@apta.org.