PTs Making Progress
Earlier this week, 200 physical therapists, PTAs and students of physical therapy programs went to Capitol Hill to speak with legislators about the need to improve patient access to physical therapy services.
Once in meetings with Senate and House members, the providers stressed the importance of three key issues--their desire for removal of Medicare part B therapy caps, the implementation of direct patient access to physical therapy services in all 50 states, and the importance of student debt repayment for those physical therapists who make the choice to practice in underserved areas.
For some time now, we've been reading about similar marches, whether at the state or federal level. Having attended one of these marches myself at APTA 2003 in Washington, DC, the passion and conviction of the PT professionals was evident. But what about the lawmakers? Are we getting the message across? Current budget constraints not withstanding, is the physical therapy profession better off now than it was 5-10 years ago? And if so, is this the result of action on the part of our national lawmakers?