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Committee holds physical-therapy durable medical equipment bill after debate over payment and liability
Summary
Lawmakers heard extensive testimony on House Bill 2181, which would let physical therapists recommend or prescribe durable medical equipment related to mobility impairment; the committee paused the bill to allow further stakeholder work on payment, liability and collaboration with physicians.
House Bill 2181, which would add recommending and prescribing durable medical equipment (DME) related to mobility impairment to the definition of physical-therapy practice, was presented to the committee but not advanced after extended stakeholder discussion.
Sponsor testimony described the measure as a patient-access change intended to reduce delays in care where patients see physical therapists through direct access and currently must seek a physician’s prescription for equipment such as walkers or canes. Tom Dorn, representing the Arizona Physical Therapy Association, said narrowing the bill to mobility-related equipment and including collaboration language could address many stakeholders’ concerns.
Opponents — led by Jeremy Browning for the Arizona Osteopathic Medical Association — told the committee that Medicare and major commercial insurers generally require a physician prescription to reimburse for DME (citing 42 C.F.R. 410.38) and that allowing PTs to order expensive equipment could result in denials, surprise or balance billing, and patient confusion about coverage. Browning said insurers follow Medicare’s baseline, and CMS does not presently list physical therapists in the categories that authorize DME reimbursement.
Committee members pressed witnesses on practical safeguards: whether PTs would be required to collaborate with an existing physician of record, how the equipment list might be narrowed to mobility items, and whether payment pathways could be resolved before enabling prescribing in statute. Dorn said the sponsors are open to floor amendments to require collaboration and to limit the DME list to about 35 mobility-oriented items identified from CMS guidance.
After extended discussion, the sponsor said stakeholders would continue negotiations and the committee held the bill for further work. "We are going to hold this bill and let you guys work on it," the chair said, and the bill was not advanced.
