Page 18 - OPTA Volume 48

LEGISLATIVE AND PAYMENT POLICY UPDATES
Legislative Report
Amanda Sines – OPTA Lobbyist Government Advantage Group
PT Compact Passed Ohio Senate!
Senators Kristina Roegner (R – Stow) and Bill Blessing (R – Cincinnati) introduced Senate Bill 272 for Ohio to enter into the Physical Therapy Compact!
18 | September 2020 | OPTA
The OPTA is pleased to support the introduction of this legislation for Ohio to join the many other states which either have a fully operational PT Compact system or have passed their enabling legislation . This bill allows practice portability for licensees
who live in a Compact state . Compact activity in states surrounding Ohio are Kentucky (enacted), West Virginia (legislation passed), Pennsylvania (legislation introduced), and Michigan (legislation introduced) .
According to www .PTcompact .org: The Physical Therapy Compact is an agreement between member states to improve access to physical therapy services for the public by increasing the mobility of eligible physical therapy providers to work in multiple states .
The OPTA believes entering the Compact will attract additional physical therapists to practice in Ohio while also giving our current licensees added license portability to serve patients .
SB 272 was considered by the Senate Health, Human Services, and Aging Committee . A sponsor hearing was held on February 12, 2020 . At the proponent hearing on May 20, 2020, Susan Appling, PT, DPT, Ph .D . represented the OPTA with in-person testimony . The OTPTAT Board also submitted testimony in support of the bill . After a third hearing on June 9, the committee favorably reported out the bill . It went on to be passed by the full Senate the next day . The bill picked up many co-sponsors as well . As currently pending, 27 out of 33 Senators have added their names to the bill .
The Ohio House of Representatives will now consider the legislation .
Fair Co-Pay Legislation Heard in Ohio House
Representative Jeff LaRe (R – Violet Township) has introduced House Bill 547, which would mandate co-pay parity for physical therapy and occupational therapy to that of a primary care physician visit . Currently, PTs and OTs are deemed by insurers
as specialists and therefore, subject patients to higher co-pays to utilize those services . These high co-pays at each visit to a therapist create a financial disincentive to patients .
HB 547 is pending before the House Insurance Committee . At the proponent hearing on May 19, Anthony DiFilippo, PT, DPT, MEd represented the OPTA and Danny Hurley gave testimony in support on behalf of the Ohio Occupational Therapy Association .
In testimony, Dr . DiFilippo stated: "Meaningful physical therapy for injury and surgery recovery is not a one- and-done treatment plan . It takes multiple visits to
a therapist to meet patient recovery goals . Research shows that individuals who receive regular physical therapy treatment experience greater improvement
in function and decreased pain intensity," He further explained, "However, high co-pays at every visit can create disincentives for the patients to get maximum benefit from the therapy."
The OPTA looks forward to continuing to support this important legislation .
For more information, contact Amanda at:
amanda@gov-advantage.com