ASHA, AOTA, and APTA Call on CMS for Immediate Change
March 27, 2020
ASHA, the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA), and the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) call on the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to use its 1135 waiver authority [PDF] to meet the medically necessary needs of Medicare beneficiaries by immediately allowing Medicare coverage of telehealth services to include audiology, occupational therapy, physical therapy, and speech-language pathology. Medicare beneficiaries need and deserve coverage of these essential health care services without delay and without unnecessarily putting themselves and the enrolled clinician at risk of COVID-19 transmission during the ongoing pandemic. Expanding Medicare telehealth coverage to include services furnished by our therapy professionals provides a commonsense solution that enhances access to medically necessary care for beneficiaries and put providers back to work when our economy needs it most.
Questions?
Visit ASHA’s website for the latest updates and resources related to COVID-19, including information telepractice. Contact ASHA’s health care and education policy team at reimbursement@asha.org.
