Thompson, Courtney Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Improve Rehab Therapy for Medicare Patients

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, Reps. Glenn "GT" Thompson (PA-15) and Rep. Joe Courtney (CT-02) introduced a new bipartisan bill that would support America's seniors by preserving expanded access to skilled rehabilitation therapies for Medicare patients, even after the existing Public Health Emergency (PHE) is lifted. The Access to Inpatient Rehabilitation Therapy Act would ensure that all inpatient rehabilitation hospital patients can continue to benefit from a patient-centered, interdisciplinary care plan even after the end of the PHE.

"As a former Rehabilitation Services Manager and Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist, I was honored to work with patients facing life-changing disease and disability for nearly three decades. The effectiveness of care involves the proper mix, frequency and intensity of medically necessary physician prescribed therapy." Rep. Thompson said. "I am pleased to reintroduce bipartisan legislation that will ensure Medicare empowers physicians to exercise their medical judgement and therapy professionals to deliver the best possible care for patients recovering from accidents or illness."

"When recovering from an injury or disabling medical event it is crucial that a patient be able to receive the types of rehabilitation services that their care team recommends. The current ‘intensity of therapy' requirement unfairly limits the care that seniors and people with disabilities are able to access," said Rep. Courtney. "This bill is a small but important change to Medicare to ensure that when a physician believes a patient needs a certain type of treatment, that patient can get it. I appreciate that so many patient advocates came forward to advocate for this change, and I am glad to be working with my colleague Rep. GT Thompson to fix this problem."

"Just as no two people are exactly alike, no two brain injuries are exactly alike. People with brain injuries need a comprehensive, diverse set of therapies when in the post-acute rehabilitation stage of their treatment," said Brain Injury Association of American President & CEO Susan Connors. "This bill will go a long way towards protecting meaningful patient access to the gold standard of rehabilitation therapy, including a mix of skilled therapeutic modalities that will help patients enhance their recovery."

"Inpatient rehabilitation care allows for patients to access an intensive, multidisciplinary treatment plan led by a rehabilitation physician in order to meet the complex needs of IRF patients," said American Academy of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation President Deborah Venesy, MD. "We are grateful to Representatives Courtney and Thompson for their leadership in introducing the Access to Inpatient Rehabilitation Therapy Act to ensure that the full spectrum of skilled therapy is readily available to patients based on their unique medical and functional needs."

"Patients in inpatient rehabilitation hospitals should receive the skilled therapy services they need based on their specific condition, not based on arbitrary regulations," stated American Therapeutic Recreation Association Executive Director, Dr. Brent Wolfe. "This bill will go a long way towards protecting a mix of skilled therapeutic modalities, including recreational therapy, that will help restore and rehabilitate a person's level of functioning and independence in life activities."

"The Center for Medicare Advocacy supports this important step towards ensuring that Medicare beneficiaries who need intensive, multidisciplinary rehabilitation can receive the right therapies in the right setting," said Judith Stein, Executive Director, Center for Medicare Advocacy.

Under the ongoing PHE, Medicare beneficiaries who need Inpatient Rehabilitation Therapy are not required to meet certain requirements to have their time in an Inpatient Rehabilitation Hospital covered by Medicare.

However, once the PHE waiver comes to an end, Medicare will begin again imposing restrictions on the types of therapies that count towards their "intensity of therapy" requirement, potentially limiting the types of therapies a patient could receive. Under Medicare rules, a patient must benefit from at least three hours of skilled rehabilitation therapy per day in order to qualify for Medicare coverage of their stay in an inpatient rehab facility. This new legislation would expand the types of therapy that count toward this requirement—such as recreational therapy and respiratory therapy—ensuring that patients can access care that their physicians believe will aid them on the road to recovery.

Patients who are recovering from illnesses such as brain injuries, amputations, or strokes need a range of rehabilitation therapies to enable their safe return home. Once the Public Health Emergency ends, Medicare rules will unfairly limit the types of therapies that these patients could receive by failing to count them towards their "intensity of therapy requirement".

The legislation is endorsed by the American Academy of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, the American Medical Rehabilitation Providers Association, the American Therapeutic Recreation Association, the Brain Injury Association of America, the Association of Rehabilitation Nurses, the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation, the National Association of State Head Injury Administrators, and the United Spinal Association.

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