Urge your Representative to Co-Sponsor H.R. 1430 to Allow OMSs to Refer Patients for PT

Last Congress, AAOMS started working with legislators in Washington to make a technical correction to a Medicare statute that would allow OMSs to refer Medicare patients for physical therapy. On March 11, 2009, the Medicare Oral Health Rehabilitative Enhancement Act, H.R. 1430, was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives by Representatives Bill Pascrell (D-NJ) and Eric Cantor (R-VA). The introduction of the bill alone was a significant advancement for our specialty. This legislation seeks to amend section 1861(p)(1) of the Social Security Act to include dentists among the list of providers designated to refer for physical therapy.

Our legislative champions on this issue need our help to increase awareness and support for this bill. Please email your U.S. Representative by sending the letter below and ask them to co-sponsor H.R. 1430 to allow OMS physical therapy referral under Medicare. This message is just a template, and we encourage you to personalize it by adding your own experiences.

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Subject:

Dear [ Decision Maker ],

(Edit Letter Below)

As an oral and maxillofacial surgeon and constituent in your district, I urge you to co-sponsor H.R. 1430, the Medicare Oral Health Rehabilitative Enhancement Act, which would allow our specialty to refer patients for physical therapy under Medicare.

Oral and maxillofacial surgeons routinely treat patients for conditions that require physical therapy, such as jaw fractures, temporomandibular joint disorder (TMJ) and reconstructive procedures to correct congenital anomalies. Unfortunately, current Medicare statute prohibits oral and maxillofacial surgeons from the direct referral of patients for physical therapy and instead requires us to initially refer patients to an allopathic or osteopathic physician (including fields such as podiatry and optometry), and/or work with such a physician to establish a therapy plan when we believe physical therapy should be part of a patient's treatment.

H.R. 1430 is budget neutral, supported by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), and will save significant time and Medicare resources by allowing oral and maxillofacial surgeons to directly refer for out-patient physical therapy and monitor the therapy plans of their patients.

Please co-sponsor H.R. 1430 to make a technical correction to current statute and allow oral and maxillofacial surgeons to refer their Medicare patients for physical therapy.

Sincerely,
[Your name]
[Your address]

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