ASHT staff is very encouraged by the productive summer months in Washington, DC.
Both the “Direct Access” and “Therapy Cap” legislation continues to build congressional support. S. 647/H.R. 1333, the "Medicare Patient Access to Physical Therapists Act of 2005," currently has 11 Senate co-sponsors and 109 House members. Meanwhile, S. 438/H.R. 916, the "Medicare Access to Rehabilitation Services Act of 2005," sits at 33 co-sponsors in the Senate and 126 in the House. Both pieces of legislation maintain steady and promising congressional backing.
The past few months have been very active in Washington, DC in response to the influx of Health Information Technology (HIT) related legislation and Health and Human Services (HHS) agency action. Although we know HIT is not traditionally a core issue for ASHT, electronic medical records and the promise of a National Health Information Network (NHIN) will affect the practices of every medical provider. Currently there are a number of bills introduced focusing on HIT and electronic medical records, including the highly anticipated, bipartisan effort of Senators Frist (R-TN) and Clinton (D-NY). As these issues continue to develop, ASHT staff will continue to monitor these issues, in addition to ASHT's "Hot Issues," and keep you apprised if they begin to make meaningful progress.
If you have any questions about the Washington Update or the ASHT Government News Center, please contact ASHT GR representatives at 202.367.1175. Please let us know what you think; your feedback is important to us!
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