Congressional Visit for PT Issues at the Mount

On September 5, 2024, Dr. Erin Hofmeyer, Nick Brunsman, student in the DPT 2026 cohort, and Mike Mathy, Executive Director of the Ohio Physical Therapy Association, met to discuss issues affecting the physical therapy profession with Congressman Warren Davidson-R 8^th District Ohio and his team. Joining Congressman Davidson were his wife, Lisa, District Director, Ben Thaeler, and Field Representative, Mike Robison. This visit offered an excellent lobbying opportunity for both faculty and student to express concerns about current issues discussed during the 118^th U.S. Congress. The visit also offered an elected official an inside look at the Mount's campus and community.

During the visit, physical therapy topics of discussion included the following issues:

• The EMPOWER Act (H.R. 4878/S. 2459)-seeking to remove direct supervision requirement for PTA/OTAs providing Medicare Part B services in private practice settings and analyze the 15% payment differential for their services.
• The Physical Therapist Workforce and Patient Access Act (H.R. 4829)-seeking to recognize PTs as participants of the National Health Service Corps Loan Repayment Program. This program offers incentives for loan repayment of up to $50,000 in outstanding student loans to healthcare professionals agreeing to work 2 years in designated Health Professional Shortage Area.
• The SAFE Act (H.R. 7618)-seeking to ensure Medicare beneficiaries, identified by their physicians as having had a fall in the year prior to their Initial Preventive Physical Examination (known as the "Welcome to Medicare" visit) are referred to a PT for falls screening and preventive services.
• Expanded Telehealth Access Act (H.R. 3875/S. 2880)-seeking to instruct CMS to permanently adopt Medicare payment for telehealth delivered by PTs, PTAs, and other rehab professionals as a list of authorized telehealth providers.

The meeting discussion was positive and fruitful. Congressman Davidson is supportive of the expansion of telehealth and the removal of PTA supervision requirement. He shared concerns about student loan reimbursement. He shared his thoughts on incentivizing employers for student loan reimbursement in a wide variety of fields-not PT alone. Additional discussion on Medicare programming changes and alternatives were shared.

Mount Administrative Leadership joined the meeting to discuss their support of the physical therapy profession, share personal examples as to experiences with physical therapy, and offer their strong support of the DPT program as an exemplar for other programs at the Mount.

From Dr. Hofmeyer "I am thrilled to have had an opportunity to connect with Congressman Davidson. As my elected official, I was delighted to bring him to the Mount as the university is outside of his congressional district. It has always been important to me to advocate for my profession. My belief is that all PTs should take an active role in advancing our profession. I teach many courses where the advocacy process is enacted and discussed. To have a student share in this active process of professional lobbying is memorable. I am proud to have Nick as a student and anticipate future advocacy efforts in his future."

From Nick "I am very thankful I had the opportunity to meet my elected Congressman Warren Davidson and his team to discuss different issues affecting our profession. This was a very unique experience that allowed me to advocate for our profession for the first time. It was interesting to learn more about some of these current issues and how they will impact me when I am a practicing Physical Therapist, but it is encouraging to see that elected officials, like Congressman Davidson, are in support of some of these issues, like the expansion of telehealth and removal of PTA supervision requirement. I look forward to other opportunities to advocate for my profession to ensure we can grow and continue helping those who require our services."

For more information about Federal advocacy efforts and Legislative Bill Tracking by the American Physical Therapy Association, the following link provides you with the most up to date insights: https://www.apta.org/advocacy/issues/apta-legislative-update-bill-status APTA members are also encouraged to download the APTA Advocacy App at https://www.apta.org/advocacy/take-action