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The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) recently released its report, "Medicare Basics: Outpatient Therapy Services." MedPAC is an independent federal body that advises Congress on issues affecting the Medicare program. The report is an excellent overview of the issues surrounding Medicare payment for speech-language pathology, physical therapy, and occupational therapy services. It includes a complete discussion of Medicare outpatient therapy payment policy that illustrates the timing of federal laws that have affected reimbursement.
Using data from research findings funded by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services as well as Office of the Inspector General and General Accountability Office reports, MedPAC describes which beneficiaries use outpatient therapy, how payment policies have influenced therapy service delivery in different settings, and recent spending trends. Fascinating facts such as, "the oldest group (85 years and older) made up 12 percent of (therapy) beneficiaries but were over a third of SLP users" are found throughout the MedPAC report.
The authors also indicate that there is a need for outcomes data to assess if higher spending results in improved functional status for patient. The report can be found at www.medpac.gov/publications/other_reports/Dec05_Medicare_Basics_OPT.pdf?CFID=2293069&CFTOKEN=48024906 (PDF format). For further information, contact Ingrida Lusis, Director of Health Care Regulatory Advocacy, at 800-498-2071, ext. 4482 or at ilusis@asha.org.
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