Physical therapists lobby for increased Medicare reimbursement rates

Oklahoma physical therapy professionals on Capitol Hill lobbying for legislative support to tie Medicare physician payments to inflation. Addressing patient safety concerns amid growing medical costs.

Tuesday, July 15th 2025, 5:09 pm

By: Alex Cameron


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The final version of President Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill did not include a provision that medical professionals, including physical therapists, had been wanting for many years. The provision would have tied Medicare physician payment increases to inflation, as measured by the Medicare Economic Index (MEI). It aimed to increase Medicare physician payments to reflect the rising costs of running a medical practice and had been included in the House version of the OBBB; it was taken out in the Senate.

A half dozen physical therapy professionals from Oklahoma, along with hundreds of others from across the country, were on Capitol Hill Tuesday, lobbying for passage of the MEI pay provision in future legislation, as well as pushing for other legislative support.

Here's a more detailed breakdown:

House Bill:

  1. The House version of the OBBB included a provision that would have increased Medicare physician payments by tying them to the MEI; according to the American Medical Association, the MEI is "a measure of practice cost inflation that was developed in 1975 to estimate annual changes in physicians’ operating costs and establish appropriate Medicare physician payment updates." This would have been a significant change, as physician payments have not kept pace with inflation in recent years. 
  2. According to Jeff Jankowski, President of Valir Physical Therapy in Oklahoma

"...for the last seven years, we have had—not only did we not have anything tied to inflation, we’ve had reductions; so we’ve had about a grand effect of about a 13% reduction in payment over the last seven years, as costs have gone up. So, it’s led to a lot of turnover in the physical therapy world and healthcare, in general. And so it’s creating gaps for a patient to be able to find help, and there’s longer wait times to get in, and so it’s really creating an issue with our patient safety."

Senate Bill:

  1. The Senate version of the bill dropped the MEI provision, meaning that physician payments will not be automatically adjusted for inflation.

Impact:

  1. The decision is a setback for physician groups who have been advocating for increased Medicare payments to offset the rising costs of providing care. The lack of an inflationary adjustment could further strain physician practices, particularly those in rural areas or with smaller practices. 
  2. According to Nathan Henderson, a physical therapist assistant for Redbud Physical Therapy in Tahlequah:

"...it’s very difficult to get therapists out in the rural settings. Currently, I’m working in a clinic with just one physical therapist and myself, and with the volume that we see with just two therapists full-time, sometimes there’s a wait to give those patients quality care."

Ongoing Advocacy:

  1. Despite the absence of the provision in the final version of the OBBB, advocacy efforts are still underway to ensure that a mechanism for adjusting physician payments for inflation is included in future legislation.


Alex Cameron

Alex Cameron is Griffin Media’s Washington Bureau Chief, reporting from our nation’s capital on issues that impact Oklahomans. An award-winning journalist, Alex first joined the News 9 team in 1995, and his reporting has taken him around the world, covering stories in Bosnia, Colorado, Washington, D.C., Seattle, New York and Ukraine. 

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