Centrex Rehab is pleased to announce the most recent publication of a quarterly blog on McKnights, written by Kristy Wikum M.S., CCC-SLP, President and CEO of Centrex Rehab and Matt Mesibov, PT, GCS Clinical Physical Therapist Specialist of Centrex Rehab. This quarter’s blog is about the “Importance of Documentation for Therapists”.
Congratulations Kristy and Matt! Please see the link below for the article.
Therapy documentation, What to Know
Centrex Rehab is pleased to announce the publication of a quarterly blog on McKnights, written by Kristy Wikum M.S., CCC-SLP, President and CEO of Centrex Rehab and Matt Mesibov, PT, GCS Clinical Physical Therapist Specialist of Centrex Rehab. This blog is about what is happening at MedPAC and why therapists should care.
Congratulations Kristy and Matt! Please see the link below for the article.
What’s happening at MedPac and why therapists should care
We are pleased to share a recent blog post on McKnights by Centrex Rehab Kristy Wikum M.S., CCC- SLP, President/CEO, and Tammy Althoff, M.S., CCC-SLP Clinical Speech-Language Pathologist. The post focuses on managing care for people who have difficulty swallowing. Please click the link below for the article.
When Your Resident Cannot Swallow
Centrex Rehab is pleased to announce the publication of an article on McKnights, written by Kristy Wikum M.S., CCC-SLP, President and CEO of Centrex Rehab and Matt Mesibov, PT, GCS Clinical Physical Therapist Specialist of Centrex Rehab. The article is about how Therapy can be a key in controlling pain and curtailing opioid use. With all of the articles in the news lately about opioid abuse in the U.S. it is a wonderful tool to have to help combat that abuse!
Congratulations Kristy and Matt! Please see the link below for the article.
Therapy is key to controlling pain and long term opiod use
While the body is almost magical in its ability to heal and recover lost ground, the mind and emotions can sometimes hold us back. Building inner strength, while building up physical abilities is an important part of recovery. Please see the attached link for an article written by Centrex Rehab CEO that was published on McKnights!
Please find the attached link for an article published on McKnights written by Centrex Rehab’s CEO!
Spending time and money on employees pays off
Matthew Mesibov, PT, GCS
Clinical Physical Therapy Specialist
Back in 1997 congress created legislation known as The Balanced Budget Act and placed an annual and “arbitrary” financial cap on rehabilitation services reimbursement under Medicare part B. I use the word arbitrary because the decision of the total dollar amount was not based on needs related to a specific diagnosis and patient findings but due to the amount of dollars available to spend divided by the number of beneficiaries who were eligible for physical therapy, occupational therapy and speech language pathology services. Due to federal regulations, the dollar cap which in 2017 is a shared $1980 for physical therapy and speech language pathology and $1980 for occupational therapy.
The program then included a way to apply for services beyond the financial cap if extenuating circumstances existed and were approved by the Medicare contractor. So, picture an older adult who may have had a stroke or another neurological disease such as Parkinson’s disease or multiple sclerosis in need of necessary therapy services. If the therapy cap was met, then you would have to check if the diagnosis qualified as an “automatic” exception vs. a manual exception. Eventually the program changed to an exceptions process where it is up to the clinician’s clinical judgment which they must support in their documentation as to whether services should continue.
Over the years, through advocacy efforts with legislators by patients, concerned citizens, therapists and other medical professionals, congress has recognized the cap’s potential harmful effect on Medicare beneficiaries and has continually extended an exceptions process that enables Medicare to pay its share for therapy services after the patient reaches the therapy cap limits. We almost had an elimination of the therapy cap this past year which in the 11th hour was dropped as part of a larger legislative bill.
Move forward to Thursday, October 26, the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee, the House Ways and Means Committee, and the Senate Finance Committee announced a bipartisan, bicameral deal on a permanent repeal of the annual outpatient Medicare therapy cap.
Here are some major points to the repeal plan:
Typically, when congress is going to repeal something such as the therapy cap, they will look to offset this cost by saving money elsewhere. The current legislative proposal does not contain any offsets to pay for the provisions. As the current therapy cap exceptions is due to expire at the end of 2017, congress must act before the end of the year to either repeal the therapy caps or to grant another temporary extension for the exceptions process to protect beneficiary access to care.
We will have an answer as to whether the therapy cap comes off within the next month or so and I will be able to report on the results in our next quarterly blog.
Centrex Rehab’s very own Katie J., PTA, Anoka, competed in the US Nationals for Triathlon in Olympic Long Distance in Nebraska the weekend of August 12th 2017. Katie’s finish qualified her for the World Championships in 2018 in the 30-34 age group taking place in Australia!
I was able to catch up with Katie after her competition and she was gracious enough to answer some questions about competing triathlons and her awesome accomplishment.
As someone who has never competed triathlons, my curiosity was greatly peaked about what goes into competing triathlons. Below are some of the questions I asked Katie. The font which is italicized are Katie’s answers.
Congratulations Katie and thank you very much in taking the time for the interview! Centrex Rehab will be rooting for you in the World Championships!
written by Mary Tobias
Centrex Rehab is pleased to share an article about Castle Peak that was published in Glow magazine about aging gracefully. Please click the below link to access the article.
Glow magazine article – Castle Peak
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