As a consultant for over 20 years, I have learned not to say that I have seen or heard it all. Once again, I was reminded of this when I received the following question last month. The question I received was “Does Medicare require therapists to color code their schedule?” Since the question was specifically focused on Medicare, of course I jumped to one conclusion on why they were asking. The conclusion was this person thought that one-on-one patient contact only applied to Medicare and not to other insurers. Now, could that have still been one of the reasons for

On April 30, 2026, the Department of Education released the “Reimagining and Improving Student Education: Federal Student Loan Program” final rule. The final rule limits how much a graduate and professional student may borrow annually and in aggregate. The limits are as follows for a graduate student: The limits are as follows for a professional student: Unfortunately, physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech therapy programs are considered graduate degree programs. This means students enrolled in one of these programs are limited to borrowing $100,000 in aggregate for their entire college career. To read the final rule, click HERE. Stay tuned

In the private practice setting, a therapist must enroll in the Medicare program in order to provide and be reimbursed for outpatient therapy services that are covered by the Medicare program. The application can be completed on paper or online using the Medicare Provider Enrollment, Chain, and Ownership System (PECOS). Once the therapists application has been approved by their Medicare Administrative Contractor, there are 3 dates they need to know. They are the: But what do all these dates mean and when can the therapist begin treating Medicare beneficiaries? In this article, I will answer the following questions:

Wisconsin Physician Services (WPS) has published the results of their recent Targeted Probe and Educate (TPE) audit. The TPE impacted Indiana and Michigan and CPT codes 97112 and 97530. For private practices, the results of the TPE audit for 97112 was a 15% error rate. For all other settings, the results of the TPE audit for 97530 was a 23% error rate. Most likely, the two main issues were: if you have a concern about the documentation, or lack thereof, occurring in your practice or organization, I would recommend the following 2 webinars:

A question I receive is must a provider issue a Notice of Medicare Non-Coverage (NOMNC) to Medicare beneficiaries when outpatient therapy is ending? The following settings are required to issue a NOMNC to a Medicare beneficiary when outpatient therapy is ending:

With the success of Artemis 2 and its orbit around the moon, I thought I would write an article on how the MOON impacts outpatient therapy. What is a Medicare Outpatient Observation Notice (MOON)? Who is required to provide a MOON to a Medicare beneficiary? In this article, I will answer the following questions:

If you have read one commercial insurer’s therapy policies, you have read one commercial insurer’s therapy policies. That is why I have created an extensive frequently asked questions (FAQs) page dedicated to Aetna and outpatient therapy. This Aetna FAQ page will provide you answers to some of the most common questions I receive regarding Aetna and outpatient therapy services. Questions answered include, but are not limited to: To read the answers to the above questions, click HERE.

Medicare’s 8-minute rule remains very confusing not only for therapists and assistants, but also for billers, practice managers, owners of private practices, and facility directors and administrators. That is why I have created an extensive frequently asked questions (FAQs) page dedicated to the 8-minute rule. This 8-minute rule FAQ page will provide you answers to some of the most common questions I receive regarding this topic. Questions answered include, but are not limited to: To read the answers to the above questions, click HERE.