Great Week for Occupational Therapy on Capitol Hill
This week was a great week for occupational therapy in Washington, DC as the profession received recognition on multiple fronts.
- First, the Stopping Addiction and Falls for the Elderly (SAFE) Act (H.R. 7618) was introduced in the House of Representatives by Reps. Carol Miller, WV-1, and Melanie Stansbury, NM-1. If enacted, this bill would add falls prevention services provided by an OT or PT to the Medicare annual wellness visit if a beneficiary has experienced a fall in the last year. The SAFE Act is a great acknowledgement of the crucial role of occupational therapy practitioners in falls prevention and improving home safety. You can read more about the bill, including a quote from AOTA President Alyson Stover, in the Los Alamos Daily Post.
- Second, the Telehealth Modernization Act (H.R. 7623), one of the comprehensive telehealth bills being considered by Congress, was reintroduced with a major change from prior versions of the bill. The new bill would make occupational therapy practitioners, physical therapists, and speech-language pathologists permanent Medicare telehealth providers. Previous versions of the bill would have left the decision with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Explicit inclusion in the Telehealth Modernization Act was a huge win, and increases the chances of occupational therapy practitioners being made permanent providers when Congress acts on expiring telehealth provisions later this year.
- Finally, the House Ways and Means Committee which oversees Medicare policy held a hearing on rural home health. At the hearing, Rep. Lloyd Smucker, PA-11, the lead sponsor of the Medicare Home Health Accessibility Act (H.R 7148) spoke about the importance of this legislation and the crucial role of occupational therapy in preventing rehospitalizations and helping people to remain and thrive in their homes.
Taken together, this week demonstrates that policy makers understand the importance of occupational therapy in addressing the needs of Medicare beneficiaries and demonstrates real momentum for our policy issues on Capitol Hill