AAPM&R would like to thank members and their institutions who took action and, together, raised a unified request to CMS to not finalize the proposed rule that would defer to the individual facilities' administrators to define and assess the definition of a “rehabilitation physician.”
By the June 17 comment deadline, more than 1,100 comment letters were submitted directly to CMS through the AAPM&R Advocacy Action Center. We know even more letters were submitted directly to CMS, which is an incredible response by our specialty!
AAPM&R would also like to thank our supportive PM&R academic leaders and the 40 patient advocacy groups, medical specialties, and large IRF hospitals who signed onto the AAPM&R stakeholder letter asking CMS to not finalize the proposal that would delegate this important accountability to IRFs, instead of CMS continuing its ownership of this important role. Read our collaborative statement to CMS.
When the final rule is released later this year, AAPM&R will immediately notify membership. In the meantime, AAPM&R is continuing our collaborative discussions with rehabilitation stakeholders to ensure physiatrists maintain their critical leadership role within the IRF setting both now and in the future. Developments on this front will be shared with membership, when available.