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Dear Physical Therapy community,
We had a very successful Physical Therapy Lobby Day at the State house this past Friday March 15. It was great to have members from the Physical Therapy world representing many areas of practice. We were able to talk to our representatives about the need for improved pay and decreased administrative burdens for Physical Therapy. Overall, it was very well received. They seemed to understand the value that we can provide to the people of Vermont.
It has been a challenging start of the year for some of us, between the Cyber Security Attack and increased administrative burdens. The new Prior Authorization requirements that DVHA (VT Medicaid) implemented in January of 2023 includes 30 visits combined PT/OT and SLP visits per year before Prior Authorization is needed. I know this can be very helpful for the providers seeing "simple" cases where a patient is only seeing one discipline and will not need more than the 30 visits.
For the providers that are seeing more complicated patients, adults or children, it is a different story. As an out-patient practice that only sees Pediatric patients that have VT Medicaid, it has been impacting me negatively in a significant way.
I would like to know if others are having the same complications as I am. Please email me with the impact it has on your practice. If we work together we can create change and make Vermont a great place to practice Physical Therapy, with our patients benefiting the most. I look forward to hearing from you.
Thank you,
Heidi Wilhelm DPT
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