Future of PT Symposium
Meeting Overview and Prep
On June 10thAPTA Maryland hosted a symposium to bring together physical therapy businesses to identify shared challenges, opportunities, and priorities; develop actionable next steps; and create a framework for ongoing collaboration.
This event was not about solving every issue facing the profession. We set out to identify the most important opportunities and challenges before us, determine where we have common ground, and establish a path forward together.
Shared Priorities
Primary Care PT
a. Credentialing b. Scope of Practice c. Fair Copay Legislation
Super Groups
a. Models b. Resources
Administrative Burden
a. Prior Auth Reform b. Gold Carding c. Adverse Decisions
Additional Symposium Outcomes
a. Annual Private Practice Summit b. Practice Admin What’s App Group
Stay Tuned for more information about the admin what’s app, annual summit, and the road map for our shared priorities.
Materials
MIA Audio and Video Records
Concept
Agenda
| Time | Activity | Outputs |
| 1:00–0:15 | Welcome, introductions, goals, and ground rules. | Shared expectations; attendance recorded. |
| 1:15–2:30 | A. Policy and Payor Landscape: identify key external issues, pressures, and opportunities. | Panel discussion and audience Q&A. |
| 2:30–3:30 | B. Shared Priorities: confirm the group’s top priorities for action. | Ranked priorities; top 3–5 confirmed. |
| 3:30–4:30 | C. Commitments: As a group, complete the roadmap worksheet to assign owners, note support needed, and map 30-, 60-, and 90-day next steps. | Action plans per priority; named owners. |
| 4:30–4:45 | D. Task Force Formation: confirm who will carry the work forward and how the group will stay connected. | Task forces confirmed; first meeting dates proposed. |
| 4:45–5:00 | Closing: recap agreements, immediate action items, and confirm 3- and 6-month checkpoints. And how to stay involved. | Decisions recap; next dates drafted. |
Feedback
Independent outpatient physical therapy practices across Maryland are experiencing significant financial strain due to rising operational costs, stagnant reimbursement rates, and increasing administrative burdens. Several community-based practices in Howard County alone have closed in recent years, threatening patient access to local rehabilitation services.
Independent private practices are increasingly challenged to compete with large corporate, physician-owned, and hospital-based therapy systems that often have greater administrative and financial resources.
Excessive prior authorization requirements, particularly within Medicare Advantage plans, are creating substantial delays in medically necessary care while increasing administrative costs for providers and practices.
Providers continue to experience excessive claim denials, delayed payments, and prolonged reimbursement processing, creating instability for community-based healthcare providers.
Insurance reimbursement rates for physical therapy services have remained largely unchanged for many years despite rising workforce, operational, and healthcare delivery costs.
Excessive hold times, communication failures, and difficulty obtaining timely assistance from insurers regarding claims, reimbursement, credentialing, and benefit verification, often requiring hours of staff time away from patient care.
Incomplete and inaccurate payer portals frequently fail to provide clear authorization requirements or accurate benefit information, forcing providers to spend significant time contacting insurers simply to avoid preventable claim denials.
Greater insurer accountability, improved transparency, and modernization of payer communication systems are needed to reduce administrative burden, improve timely access to care, and preserve the sustainability of independent rehabilitation providers.