Dear Colleagues:

On November 13, I asked you to roll up your sleeves and call your
members of Congress to ensure that the therapy cap exceptions
process would be extended and the scheduled reduction in the 2007
Medicare Physician Fee Schedule conversion factor would be avoided.
Well, you made a difference! You spoke out for your profession and
your patients, and Congress heard you. On December 8, the US House
of Representatives passed HR 6111, the Tax Relief and Health Care
Act of 2006, and the Senate followed by passing the bill December 9.
This legislation will now be forwarded to President Bush for his
signature. This legislation includes provisions essential for
Medicare beneficiaries to maintain access to needed physical therapy
services.

The Tax Relief and Health Care Act of 2006, now awaiting the
President's signature, contains the following provisions to ensure
Medicare patient access to physical therapy services provided by
physical therapists.

· A 1-year extension for Calendar Year 2007 (CY 2007) of the
therapy cap exceptions process as authorized by the Deficit
Reduction Act (DRA).

· A 1-year freeze on the conversion factor in the Medicare
Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS) for CY 2007, reversing the 5.1%
scheduled reduction in payments to providers who bill by the MPFS.
In addition to freezing the conversion factor at the 2006 level,
Congress also authorized a 1.5% bonus for providers that report on
quality measures beginning July 1, 2007. Physical therapists are
eligible providers under this quality reporting system.

· A 1-year extension for CY 2007 of the minimum 1.0 floor in
the Geographic Practice Cost Index (GPCI) under the MPFS. This
reverses a scheduled reduction in payment to the 51 rural localities
where the GPCI is below 1.0.

Your advocacy made an impact for your patients! The one in seven
Medicare beneficiaries who utilize physical therapy services will
maintain access. More than a half million Medicare beneficiaries who
would have had their services limited by an arbitrary cap will not
face that restriction. Physical therapists will avoid payment cuts
that would threaten to jeopardize the services they could offer to
Medicare beneficiaries. Without the provisions of HR 6111, physical
therapists would have seen the cap go into effect and payment cuts
at or above 10.1% for 2007.

You made a difference by taking action. APTA members generated more
than 2,500 phone calls through APTA's Action Line in 7 days during
the week of November 13. APTA members generated more than 6,000 e-
mails in the past month to members of Congress. This grassroots
initiative, combined with extensive advocacy efforts from more than
50 groups, kept the therapy cap exceptions process extension a "must
do" for Congress before adjourning for the year.

Thank you for your efforts!

R Scott Ward, PT, PhD
President
American Physical Therapy Association