APTA-Backed Legislation Improves Veterans’ Access to Falls Prevention Services

Another APTA-backed bill to improve access to falls prevention services provided by physical therapists has been introduced in Congress - this legislation specifically focused on preemptively identifying and treating veterans at risk of falling.

The SAFE STEPS for Veterans Act (S. 4556) would establish an Office of Falls Prevention within the Veterans Health Administration and require annual falls risk assessments to be carried out by a licensed physical therapist for veterans receiving extended care services throughout the Department of Veterans Affairs. The bill was introduced by Sens. Angus King, I-Maine, and Mike Rounds, R-S.D.

Establishing an Office of Falls Prevention and creating a falls prevention coordinator within VHA would establish a point person on federal panels focused on falls prevention. This coordinator would be required to develop a national education campaign to promote injury prevention programs, work with the National Institutes of Health to develop veteran-specific research for evidence-based falls prevention programs, and report on falls prevention initiatives throughout the VA.

"Physical therapists can assess risk factors and develop a plan to help our veterans avoid falls and remain independent," says Brian Allen, JD, APTA congressional affairs specialist. "Additionally, coordinating falls prevention services and expanding screening would reduce the number of falls each year and save the VA millions of dollars a year by preventing hospitalizations. Enacting the SAFE STEPS for Veterans Act would ensure our veterans receive evidence-based proactive care."

Another APTA-backed bipartisan falls prevention bill introduced this year focuses on Medicare beneficiaries. Introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives by Reps. Carol Miller, R-W.Va., and Melanie Stansbury, D-N.M., the Stopping Addiction and Falls for the Elderly Act, or SAFE Act (H.R. 7618), would make falls screening, including those conducted by PTs, a regular part of both the so-called "welcome to Medicare" visit and the Medicare Annual Wellness Visit.

Both the SAFE Act and the SAFE STEPS for Veterans Act align with APTA's ongoing public policy priorities of expanding coverage to preventive and wellness services provided by physical therapists to help reduce downstream costs.

Both pieces of legislation are also consistent with findings from an APTA report that identified cost savings associated with seeing a PT first or early on for eight common conditions, with falls included in that list. The report, "The Economic Value of Physical Therapy in the United States," concluded that seeing a PT for falls prevention services was associated with a net cost benefit of approximately $2,100 per episode of care, primarily as a result of the hospital admissions and emergency department visits that could be avoided.