A bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to ensure appropriate supervision requirements for outpatient physical therapy and outpatient occupational therapy.

This bill prohibits the supervision requirements for physical therapy assistants and occupational therapy assistants for covered outpatient services under Medicare from being different from supervision requirements under state law.

[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 5 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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117th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                  S. 5

 To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to ensure appropriate 
supervision requirements for outpatient physical therapy and outpatient 
                         occupational therapy.


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                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           November 17, 2022

  Mr. Carper (for himself and Mr. Barrasso) introduced the following 
  bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to ensure appropriate 
supervision requirements for outpatient physical therapy and outpatient 
                         occupational therapy.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. ENSURING APPROPRIATE SUPERVISION REQUIREMENTS FOR OUTPATIENT 
              PHYSICAL THERAPY AND OUTPATIENT OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY.

    (a) In General.--
            (1) Payment.--Section 1834(v)(1) of the Social Security Act 
        (42 U.S.C. 1395m(v)(1)) is amended, in the second sentence (as 
        amended by subsection (a)), by inserting ``, but in no case 
        shall the Secretary impose a supervision requirement on such 
        services that is different than any such requirement under 
        applicable State law'' before the period at the end.
            (2) Definition.--Section 1861(p) of the Social Security 
        Act, is amended, in the first sentence of the flush matter 
        following subparagraph (4)(B), by inserting ``, but in no case 
        may those conditions impose a supervision requirement that is 
        different than any such requirement under applicable State 
        law'' after ``as the Secretary may find necessary''.
            (3) Effective date.--The amendments made this subsection 
        shall take effect on July 1, 2023.
    (b) Implementation.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law, 
the Secretary may implement the provisions of, and the amendments made 
by, this section by program instruction or otherwise.
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