John Ensign: “there is a cap on the amount of therapy that can be given to seniors for physical therapy, occupational therapy and…”

“there is a cap on the amount of therapy that can be given to seniors for physical therapy, occupational therapy and speech therapy, that is set to go into effect in July. There is a $1,590 cap that is set to go into effect. What we need to do is to repeal that cap and we need to do it for very good reasons. First, the oldest and the sickest seniors will be in a situation where they have to pay 100 percent of the costs over the cap. MedPAC and independent analyses have found that one out of seven beneficiaries needing such therapies will exceed the cap. This arbitrary limitation would cause the greatest harm to the sickest and the most vulnerable of our beneficiaries. It would be those seniors who suffer from stroke, from Parkinson's disease or a similar condition that would likely exceed the therapy cap. It would be the older, more vulnerable beneficiaries who will be most affected by this therapy cap. As beneficiaries continue to age and encounter multiple health problems, they are more likely to be the ones to exceed the cap. Unlike other requests for Medicare monies, this provision is truly a provision for the beneficiaries. It is the beneficiaries who will either bear the cost of the cap or not get care. It is a beneficiary cap on services. In 1999, as part of the Balanced Budget Reconciliation Act, Congress passed a 2-year moratorium to prevent implementation of the caps.”