Payment / Advocacy Updates
March 11, 2022: Beating a March 11 deadline by one day, Congress approved a $1.5 trillion spending package that will fund the federal government through Sept. 30.
The SMART Act wasn't included (but that doesn't mean the fight is over).
Despite bipartisan support and pressure from multiple professional and patient advocacy organizations including APTA, legislation that aims to address the PTA and occupational therapy assistant payment differential was not included in the final package. The Stabilizing Medicare Access to Rehabilitation and Therapy Act — SMART, for short — would pause the payment differential until 2023, create a permanent exemption for rural and underserved areas, and relax direct supervision requirements for PTAs under Medicare.
While advocates for the bill were disappointed that the legislation was not part of the spending plan, the SMART Act remains on the table for consideration by Congress, according to APTA Vice President of Government Affairs Justin Elliott.
"The reality is that H.R. 5536, The SMART Act, still exists as a piece of legislation and continues to gain cosponsors, which means we will continue to press for its passage through this session of Congress," Elliott said. "Our push to preserve patient access to needed care and ease administrative burden is far from over, and there will be other opportunities this year to advance the bill."
