AAPM&R’s Congressional Campaign Scores BIG Win – Bipartisan Opposition to CMS’ NPP Proposal

July 30, 2020

AAPM&R is thrilled to announce that our leadership efforts have resulted in securing bipartisan support from two congressional leaders to oppose the proposal in the 2021 IRF Rule to allow non-physician practitioners (NPPs) to perform certain duties that are currently required to be performed by a rehabilitation physician.

Reps. Mike Thompson (D-CA) and Brad Wenstrup (R-OH), both on the House Ways and Means Committee, worked with the Academy’s Health Policy and Legislation Committee as well as members of AAPM&R’s Board of Governors, to secure eight physician congressional representatives from the Doctors’ Caucus to sign on to the comment letter that is now being sent to CMS and the White House Office of Management and Budget.

This is another major step forward in making PM&R’s voice heard and advocating that inpatient rehabilitative care continue to be led by rehabilitation physicians. 

You may remember that on April 16, 2020, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released an ill-timed proposed rule for the Inpatient Rehabilitation Facility (IRF) Prospective Payment System (PPS) for Fiscal Year 2021. The proposed rule, among other provisions, includes a shocking proposal to amend the IRF coverage requirements to allow non-physician practitioners (NPPs) to perform certain duties that are currently required to be performed by a rehabilitation physician.

Your Academy raised a unified voice to CMS against this proposal before the public comment window closed on June 15, 2020. This Congressional campaign is a further extension of our efforts to oppose this dangerous proposal and position PM&R physicians as leaders across the health care continuum. We anticipate that CMS will release the final rule soon and we will continue to keep members updated.