Help Fight for Fair PT Copays in Maryland
This legislation will:
✔ Cap PT copays at the same level as a primary care visit
✔ Remove a major financial barrier to care
✔ Improve access to conservative, evidence-based treatment
✔ Protect patients and reduce long-term costs
💬 Share Your Story
Legislators remember stories — not statistics.
Consider sharing:
* Who you are (PT, PTA, patient, employer)
* How high copays have affected you or your patients
* What happens when patients can access PT early and consistently
APTAMD’s government relations committee works with our Lobbying Team, Brocato and Shattuck, throughout the year to protect the practice of physical therapy in Maryland.
On April 2, 2026, CMS issued its calendar year 2027 proposed rule for the inpatient rehabilitation facility prospective payment system. This rule would increase inpatient rehabilitation facility payments by an estimated 8% or $355 million in CY 2027 relative to 2026. This update includes a 3.2% market basket update, reduced by a 0.8 percentage point cut for productivity adjustment. APTA will be publishing its summary of the proposed rule in the next two weeks. This rule also includes three proposed updates to FY 2027 inpatient facility rehabilitation prospective payment system including: codifying clarification that all therapy disciplines must be initiated within 36 hours of the patient’s admission, documentation of a patient’s current functional status in preadmission screening and a mandate that the initial interdisciplinary team meeting is completed on or before the fourth day of a patient’s admission.
On April 2, 2026, the CMS issued a proposed rule for updates to Medicare payment policies and rates for skilled nursing facilities for fiscal year 2027. CMS is proposing a 2.4% increase in SNF per diem perspective payment, or PPS, rates, or $888 million in aggregate payments to SNFs during FY 2027. This reflects a 3.2% SNF market basket update and a -0.8% productivity adjustment. The rule also includes a request for information on case-mix upcoding, a change to the snapshot date of two value-based purchasing measures, and minor changes to the quality reporting reprogram.
On April 2, 2026, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released its final CY 2027 Medicare Advantage final rule, updating a variety of policies governing plan behavior. Most notably, CMS formally eliminated several requirements on the mandatory MA Utilization Management Committees, including that they maintain a health equity expert member, and that they conduct and publish annual health equity analyses.
On April 7, 2026, Reps. Diana DeGette (D-CO) and Morgan Griffith (R-VA) circulated a “Dear Colleague” letter to the entire House of Representatives in support of R. 5621 – the Physical Therapist Workforce and Patient Access Act. The letter requests that members of Congress cosponsor this bipartisan legislation which aims to increase the physical therapist workforce in medically underserved areas. The bill would add PTs to the National Health Service Corp Loan Repayment program which awards up to $50k in student loan repayment to certain healthcare providers who practice in a medically underserved area in an approved facility for at least 2 years. Further, the bill enables federal community health centers with the option of both hiring PTs as full time employees and billing Medicare and Medicaid for PT care, a benefit those programs already cover. APTA is endorsing H.R. 5621 and urging Congress to approve this critical legislation.
