The Death of the Therapy Cap
What It Means for You
Thankfully, those pains should be put to rest now — with some small caveats.
Although the cap is technically gone, we still have some hoops to jump through. Some of the stricter rules are gone, but Medicare is still monitoring the delivery of our care very closely. Technically, the cap has been lifted, but we are still required to report to Medicare when we reach $2,010 of billed services. And when we reach we reach the $3,000 level, we open up that particular case to a possible review of the services that have been provided. So, we must be diligent about how we provide services to our patients, ensuring that we meet the standards that Medicare sets forth. We are very happy that the cap has been lifted. But we expect that, in time, further changes will occur. If you have any additional questions about the repeal of the Medicare cap for therapy services, please don’t hesitate to ask. We’re here to help, and we want to provide you with the treatment you need.
When President Trump signed the two-year budget deal in Feb. 2018, it raised the level of military spending, raised the debt ceiling, and provided some much-needed funds for disaster relief. Among other things, it also brought about a change physical therapists and patients have been waiting a long time for. Buried deep in Section 50202 of the 652-page document was something very important to physical therapists and their patients: the repeal of the Medicare cap for therapy services. We have covered this issue a few times in previous issues of the Lagniappe newsletter. But with the changes that came about in February,
we’ve been getting a lot of new questions from patients about what they’ve heard. We hope to answer some of those in this follow-up article. The idea of a cap on therapy services was originally included in the Balanced Budget Act of 1997. This issue has been fought by therapists, patients, our association, and our congressional representatives since that time. The cap was always considered an ill-conceived plan and an arbitrary limit on reimbursement for services we provided. It put our sickest patients at risk of not getting the care they needed and deserved. We had changes made to the cap with an exceptions process, and we had moratoriums, but most of all, we had a lot of headaches.
Have a Laugh!
Roasted Asparagus With Lemon Breadcrumbs
Ingredients •
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1 cup panko breadcrumbs
2 pounds asparagus
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1 tablespoon flat-leaf parsley, chopped
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1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
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2 teaspoons lemon zest
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Kosher salt
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Juice of one lemon (not packaged lemon juice)
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Freshly ground pepper
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2 garlic cloves, minced
Directions 1. Heat oven to 425 F. Toss asparagus with 2 tablespoons olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Place on baking sheet and bake for 20–26 minutes, turning asparagus halfway through. 2. When asparagus is nearly done, heat remaining olive oil in a small skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add breadcrumbs and cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove from heat and fold in parsley and lemon zest. 3. Transfer asparagus to serving platter, drizzle with lemon juice, and top with breadcrumb mixture.
Elite PT • (318) 443-3311 • 3
Recipe inspired by Food and Wine Magazine
Made with FlippingBook Annual report