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Lawmakers hear bill to change Medicaid payments for physical, occupational and speech therapists
Summary
Representative Ed Buttry introduced HB 585 to change how Medicaid reimburses physical therapy, occupational therapy and speech-language pathology by using conversion factors and relative value units; proponents said current rates leave many small providers losing money and risk service reductions for Medicaid patients.
Representative Ed Buttry introduced House Bill 585 to the Senate Business and Labor Committee, proposing a conversion-factor/relative-value-unit approach to set Medicaid reimbursement rates for physical therapists (PT), occupational therapists (OT) and speech-language pathologists (SLP).
Buttry told the committee that the professions were excluded from a 2022 state rate study and that current Medicaid payments do not cover labor and overhead. "When a physical therapist sees a patient, they lose about $44 an hour. When an SLP sees a patient, they lose about $68 an hour and an OT loses $51 an hour," Buttry said while explaining the…
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