AAPM&R Advocates for You and We’re Winning!

Fighting Against PM&R Physician Fee Cuts and For Fair Payment

• Advocating for Medicare physician payment reform continues to be a top priority for the Academy and was a focus during Congressional meetings for our annual Hill Day in May 2025, where we advocated for high-quality, high-value care and sustainable positive annual updates to the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS) while meeting with more than 30 Congressional offices. In early July, Congress passed legislation that included a one-year 2.5% temporary increase to the Medicare conversion factor effective January 1, 2026. As the Academy looks ahead to 2026, we are commenting on the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule proposed rule, which includes several policies which could impact payment for physiatry services, and will continue to urge Congress to pass sustainable long-term reforms to physician payment.  
• After years of advocacy by AAPM&R and its physician volunteers, the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) announced in its June 2024 report to Congress that it is halting its work on developing a recommendation for site-neutral payment policies for care provided in the Inpatient Rehabilitation Facility (IRF) setting. Over the years, the Academy worked to ensure that physiatry’s voice was taken into account during MedPAC’s ongoing deliberations on this issue and collaborated with other stakeholder organizations to advocate against site-neutral payment proposals and the development of a Unified Post Acute Care Prospective Payment System. These efforts included submitting and co-signing numerous comment letters, participating in multiple Technical Expert Panels (TEPs), meeting with Congressional offices and MedPAC staff, testifying before the U.S. Congress, and creating Principles for a Medicare Unified Post-Acute Care Payment System to advocate for prioritizing patient needs.

Defending PM&R Physicians Against Scope of Practice Threats

• Alongside the Arizona Medical Association, your Academy closely monitored the progress of HB 2181, which proposed allowing physical therapists (PTs) to prescribe durable medical equipment without physician involvement. AAPM&R opposed the bill, and it did not advance in the 2025 legislative session.
• Alongside our partners in the American Medical Association’s Scope of Practice Partnership, your State Advocacy Committee (SAC2) responded to bills such as the Washington Senate Bill (WA SB 5411) by engaged with Washington members, and submitted comments opposing this legislation that would expand naturopath scope of practice to include prescription authority and “minor office procedures.” WA SB 5411 ultimately failed to pass the 2023-2024 legislative session.
• Monitored by the State Advocacy Committee (SAC2) and opposed by the New York Society of PM&R (NYSPM&R), NY Senate Bill 3361 failed to advance in the 2023-2024 legislative session. The bill would have removed limits on physical therapists treating patients without referral from a physician. NYSPM&R President and SAC2 Chair, Dr. Richard G. Chang, shared concerns directly with the Medical Society of the State of New York. 
• In partnership with the Multi-Society Pain Workgroup, your Academy submitted comments to the Oklahoma State Legislature opposing Oklahoma HB 2168, which would allow certified registered nurse anesthetists to perform interventional pain procedures. Advocacy efforts were successful in defeating the bill.
• Solicited Academy members in New York to stop the elimination of oversight of physician assistants (PAs) in Part W of the Governor’s proposed Health and Mental Hygiene Budget (A.3007/S.4007) for the 2023-2024 state fiscal year. Local Academy members sent more than 80 letters to state officials. The final budget was signed by the Governor in 2023 and the provision eliminating the oversight of physician assistants was removed.

Enhancing the Recognition of PM&R Medical Expertise in Inpatient Rehabilitation, Pain Management, and Other Clinical Areas

• Members of your Academy revised the AAPM&R Position Statement on Opioid Prescribing and published it in the PM&R Journal in August. Thank you Anthony E. Chiodo MD, Thiru M. Annaswamy MD, MA, Diane W. Braza MD, Andrew S. Friedman MD, J. Jason Miller MD, Ameet S. Nagpal MD, Samman Shahpar MD, and Saloni Sharma MD, Lac for your thoughtful discussions and deliberate revisions.

Advancing Prior Authorization Reform

• A bipartisan coalition of members of Congress reintroduced the Improving Seniors’ Timely Access to Care Act (H.R. 3514/S. 1816) for the 119th Congress on May 20. This important legislation would reduce burden on physicians and help protect patients from unnecessary delays in care by codifying regulations that streamline and standardize the prior authorization process under the Medicare Advantage program. AAPM&R worked with the congressional champions and coalition partners, like the Regulatory Relief Coalition and other medical specialty societies, to get this legislation reintroduced and will continue to push for Congress to pass these common-sense reforms into law as quickly as possible.
• CMS released its long-awaited Interoperability and Prior Authorization Final Rule in January 2024. This rule, once implemented, will require covered payers to establish electronic prior authorization systems, transmit prior authorization decisions within 72 hours for expedited requests and seven calendar days for standard requests, provide a specific reason for denying prior authorization appeals, and publicly report metrics for prior authorization. The release of this final rule comes after years of advocacy efforts focused on prior authorization reform by the Academy and is a significant win for PM&R physicians and their patients.
• CMS released a rule implementing reforms to the prior authorization process under Medicare Advantage program in April 2023, the FY 2024 Medicare Advantage and Part D Final Rule. The Academy hosted a webinar, “Challenging Medicare Advantage Denials of PM&R Physician Services,” to inform Academy members of new tools that this rule has made available to physiatrists combatting prior authorization denials by Medicare Advantage plans. This resource is available for download in the Academy’s Online Learning Portal.
• We continue to push CMS on regulatory reforms to reduce the burdens imposed by unnecessary prior authorization requirements through individual Academy comments and coalition sign-on letters.

Protecting Federal Disability and Rehabilitation Research Funding

• An Academy-sponsored policy proposal was successfully adopted as official policy by the American Medical Association House of Delegates (AMA HOD) during their 2025 Annual Meeting in June. The AMA will now work with relevant stakeholders to oppose caps on indirect costs in federal grants and restore the ability of research institutions to negotiate these cost rates.  

Advocating for Your Patients

• Your Academy responded to a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) final rule that would have rescinded critical accessibility requirements for new construction in federally assisted programs or activities and urged the DOE to reverse this decision, emphasizing the importance of preserving equitable access for individuals with disabilities and ensuring all federally funded facilities remain compliant with longstanding accessibility standards. Following aggressive advocacy from the Academy and allied stakeholders, the DOE announced that it has paused implementation for this misguided proposal.
• CMS dramatically expanded coverage of seat elevation systems in power wheelchairs for Medicare beneficiaries, an advancement that comes after many years of advocacy from AAPM&R and our members who treat patients that rely on seat elevation systems to perform daily activities. This is a significant step forward in expanding equity and access to critically important medical technology and will dramatically improve the quality of life for patients that rely on power wheelchairs.
• The National Institute of Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD) announced that it will designate people with disabilities as a health disparity population for research undertaken by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). This groundbreaking move, which follows years of advocacy from AAPM&R, will help address health disparities faced by people with disabilities and ensure that NIH research going forward will include their perspectives.
• The AAPM&R Delegation to the American Medical Association (AMA) successfully introduced and gained approval for two resolutions that addressed increasing accessibility for users of wheelchairs on airplanes and expediting repairs for power and manual wheelchairs. As a direct result of the AAPM&R Delegation’s work, the AMA will now…
  • advocate Congress and the Federal Aviation Administration make air travel accessibility accommodations for wheelchair users.
  • support health insurance coverage to eliminate barriers for patients to obtain safe, affordable and timely wheelchair repairs.
• Your Academy was asked by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) in 2023 to provide expert input for a study on the quality of care currently available for patients with limb loss and limb difference, as well as ways that our national healthcare system can be improved for this patient population.  

Advancing the Integration of Novel Technologies in PM&R Practice

• In December 2024, AAPM&R hosted a first of its kind Technology Summit with Academy leaders and leaders in technology industry in attendance. The Academy is now working toward publication of a white paper capturing attendee recommendations regarding use of health technology to improve patient care and reduce provider burden. Read a summary of the event here.

Preserving Access to and Reimbursement for Telehealth Services

• In March 2025, Congress acted to extend waivers allowing for the provision of telehealth services to Medicare patients until September 30, 2025, a significant win for PM&R and patients with disabilities, chronic conditions and mobility challenges. Your Academy has consistently advocated for Congress to pass permanent or long-term policies guaranteeing access to telehealth services and will continue to advocate throughout this extension.

Our Academy volunteers made these important “wins” happen! Thank you to our committees, workgroup members and liaisons for your ongoing efforts!

However, our work is just beginning. We need members like you to join our advocacy efforts. Learn more and get involved at aapmr.org/advocacy.