Many changes have occurred in the month of December relative to Medicare and it is important to educate yourselves on these changes to every extent possible. Although the APTA has done an excellent job of keeping us all apprised of current events, I just have to recap as overall it is very good news to share.

* The Medicare Therapy Cap Exceptions Process has been extended into 2007!

* The proposed reimbursement cuts that were to significantly impact reimbursement for physical therapy services have been put on hold!

* The manual exception process is no longer in effect for 2007.

You can learn more about these changes by going to http://www.cms.hhs.gov/MLNMattersArticles/downloads/MM5478.pdf and/or by accessing the APTA website. You will readily note information regarding this and other current happenings on the homepage of the website at www.apta.org.

Since all of this is very new, I too am still in the process of digesting the finer details of the changes. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to contact me directly via email at Angelasbrooks@....

Happy New Year!

Angela S. Brooks, PT

VPTA Payer Relations Specialist