APTA's State Policy and Payment Forum Comes to Philly

On Saturday, September 20, physical therapists from all 50 states will arrive in the City of Brotherly Love to talk policy, payment and other professional matters.

The American Physical Therapy Association’s annual State Policy and Payment Forum will take place at the Doubletree Hotel in Philadelphia for three days. It will feature an array of workshops and guest speakers, including APTA officials, physical therapists and Pennsylvania legislators. ADVANCE will be on hand to cover some of the more prominent presentations, to be reported in our October 20 issue.

“We bring together chapter presidents, state legislative chairs, reimbursement chairs and lobbyists from all 50 states,” said Justin Elliot, APTA’s associate director of state government affairs. “It’s our one chance to spend time together and see how we can become better advocates.”

The lecture topics will include: EMG Challenges in the States; The Chiropractic Challenge; We Got Direct Access!  Now What??; and Revising Your State PT Practice Act: A Case Study. Roundtable discussions and workshops will focus on Medicaid, worker’s compensation, organizing a chapter advocacy academy and fostering grassroots efforts at the state level. Of course, the issues of payment and reimbursement will be paramount in the discussions.

“People are going out of business and just getting really hurt,” Elliot said. “We hope to identify some of the key points physical therapists want us to work on.”

Do you plan on attending the event? What information do you hope to get from the lectures and discussions?