Access to Inpatient Rehabilitation Therapy Act of 2015

Floor Speech

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Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, yesterday, I joined the gentleman from North Carolina, Congressman G.K. Butterfield, to introduce H.R. 1906, the bipartisan Access to Inpatient Rehabilitation Therapy Act of 2015.

Coordinated medical rehabilitation provided in an inpatient setting is crucial to Medicare beneficiaries with injuries, disease, disabilities, or chronic conditions.

Unfortunately, beginning in 2010, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services began placing limitations on what types of therapy a beneficiary could receive, despite the professional judgment of the treating physician.

Mr. Speaker, these limitations restrict recreational therapy from being prescribed, despite it being medically necessary in many cases.

The bipartisan Access to Inpatient Rehabilitation Therapy Act of 2015 that I have introduced with Congressman Butterfield will undo these unnecessary barriers imposed by CMS that place limitations on what types of therapy a beneficiary may receive.

This legislation will not cost the American taxpayer any money; will help facilitate access to the appropriate mix of services in an inpatient rehabilitation facility; and will benefit patients with brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, and those who have sustained strokes, amputations, individuals living with neurological disorders, and a wide range of other conditions.

Mr. Speaker, I stand here today and strongly urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to get behind this commonsense bipartisan legislation.

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