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Advocating for Your Patients

Advocacy

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AAPM&R is your partner in advancing the causes important to you and your patients, including access to care, medically-necessary equipment, and connections to the community.

AAPM&R is taking action.

Federal and State Advocacy Actions in 2025:

  • Your Academy joined the Coalition to Preserve Rehabilitation and the Habilitation Benefits Coalition in a letter to the Senate, voicing strong opposition to proposed Medicaid cuts in the Senate Budget Reconciliation Package that threaten essential rehabilitation and habilitation services for people with disabilities and chronic conditions.
  • Your Academy joined the Independence Through Enhancement of Medicare and Medicaid (ITEM) Coalition in a letter to CMS Administrator, Dr. Oz, requesting a meeting to discuss coverage for standing systems in Group 3 power wheelchairs.
  • Your Academy submitted a letter to the Department of Energy requesting withdrawal of a final rule issued in May that eliminates long-standing, critical accessibility requirements for new construction in federally assisted programs or activities.
  • Your Academy joined a coalition of specialty medical societies in sending a letter to congressional leadership expressing strong support for the Medicaid program in light of cuts that were proposed as part of Congress’ reconciliation budget process and highlighting the importance of this program for vulnerable patient populations.
  • Your Academy joined a coalition of provider organizations to ask Congress to robustly fund research programs focused on gun violence prevention at the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), National Institutes of Health (NIH) and other federal agencies in FY 2026.
  • AAPM&R Delegation to the AMA House of Delegates joined a coalition letter to the AMA Board of Trustees expressing concern about the potential for cuts to the Medicaid program and urging the prioritization of advocacy to support this “critical (healthcare) lifeline for approximately 80 million Americans.”
  • In January, the US Department of Transportation (DOT)’s final rule to improve air travel accessibility for individuals with disabilities went into effect. The rule aligns with your Academy’s comments to the DOT in which supported improved handling of wheelchairs, safe and dignified assistance for passengers, and expanded use of on-board wheelchairs (OBWs). While the final rule does not fully address the Academy’s request to allow passengers to stay in their personal wheelchairs during flight, it marks significant progress in enhancing air travel safety and comfort for individuals with disabilities. 
  • Your Academy organized a patient-focused grassroots advocacy campaign targeting Congressional action on prior authorization reform. This campaign asked Academy members to engage patients who have experienced the challenges of prior authorization firsthand to urge Congress to take steps to curb excessive prior authorization and utilization management practices by payers. 
 

Federal and State Advocacy Actions in 2024:

  • Your Academy joined a coalition letter to CMS Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure urging CMS to proceed expeditiously with opening for public comment the pending National Coverage Analysis (NCA) for standing systems in Group 3 power wheelchairs.
  • Your Academy endorsed the Exercise and Fitness for All Act (S.4782), federal legislation introduced by U.S. Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and Robert Casey (D-PA) that would help in the mission to ensure all people have the opportunity to be healthy and active. Specifically, the bill would authorize the U.S. Access Board, a federal agency that promotes accessibility, to issue new guidelines specifying the number and types of accessible equipment and instruction a fitness facility should have on-site.
  • Your Academy joined a coalition letter led by the Disability and Rehabilitation Research Coalition (DRRC) to leadership for the Senate Committee on Appropriations requesting that the committee provide level funding for federal programs investing in disability research as it continues its work on Fiscal Year 2025 spending bills.
  • Your Academy joined a coalition letter to Congress advocating for proper funding for critical brain injury programs under the Center for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) National Center for Injury Prevention and Control (Injury Center). Funds for these vital programs were cut in the proposed Fiscal Year 2025 Labor-Health and Human Services-Education appropriations bill advanced by the House Committee on Appropriations.
  • Your AAPM&R Delegation attended the 2024 Annual Meeting of the American Medical Association House of Delegates (AMA HOD) in Chicago, IL to ensure the perspective of PM&R is present in the development of AMA policy. The HOD discussed numerous topics impacting healthcare such as Medicare physician payment reform, prior authorization, the future of telehealth and strengthening protections for augmented intelligence (AI) tools.
  • Your Academy commented on a proposed rule from the Department of Transportation (DOT) related to expanding protections for wheelchair users traveling by airplane. AAPM&R’s comments thank DOT for addressing this issue and advocate that more needs to be done in order to protect individuals who rely on wheelchairs.
  • Your Academy submitted comments responding to both the Inpatient Rehabilitation Facility (IRF) and Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF) proposed rules for FY2025. The comments focused on quality measures and proposed additional patient data collection measures related to Social Determinants of Health (SDOH).
  • Your Academy’s State Advocacy Committee (SAC2) sent letters of support to states that recently introduced So Every BODY Can Move legislation, aimed at expanding insurance coverage for recreational prosthetic and orthotic care for all ages. If passed, this legislation would greatly increase PM&R patients access to mobility and independence.
  • Your Academy joined a coalition of provider organizations to ask Congress to fund gun violence prevention research at the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), National Institutes of Health (NIH), and other federal agencies in FY 2025.
  • Your Academy joined a coalition letter to Congress urging support for robust funding for the Department of Veterans Affairs’ Medical and Prosthetic Research Program in FY 2025.
  • Your Academy joined a coalition letter to members of the U.S. House of Representatives urging support for H.R. 6860, the Restore Protections for Dialysis Patients Act, bipartisan legislation to restore long-standing health insurance protections for individuals with end-stage renal disease.
  • Your Academy endorsed H.R. 4315, the Medicare Orthotics and Prosthetics Patient-Centered Care Act, bipartisan legislation that will help Medicare beneficiaries who use orthotic braces and prosthetic limbs to be as functional and independent as possible.

Federal and State Advocacy Actions in 2023:

  • Your Academy submitted a letter to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to adopt a more refined Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System (HCPCS) code set for intermittent catheters to ensure that individuals with disabilities and chronic conditions have access to the catheter that best meets their unique medical and functional needs.
  • Your Academy joined a coalition letter from the Disability and Rehabilitation Research Coalition (DRRC) to provide input to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) on a proposed update to the organization’s mission statement. This letter applauded the NIH for proposing to remove language seen by many as ableist, and proposed adding language focused on the importance of working to “optimize health and function, and prevent or reduce illness” for the population of the U.S.
  • Your Academy submitted comments to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in support of the proposed rule for Section 504 that updated and advanced protections for people with disabilities. Some of these updates included prohibition of discrimination against individuals with disabilities in medical treatment, prohibition of the discriminatory use of value assessments, clarify accessibility standards for web, mobile application, and kiosks, and new regulations to establish enforceable standards for accessible medical diagnostic equipment. Your Academy also joined sign-on letters on this topic led by the Disability & Rehabilitation Research Coalition (DRRC) and the Coalition to Preserve Rehabilitation[MD1] (CPR) with the Independence Through Enhancement of Medicare and Medicaid Coalition (ITEM).
  • Your Academy was contacted by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) with the opportunity 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. Read more here.