To treat Medicare beneficiaries for outpatient therapy services that are covered by the Medicare program, you must enroll in Medicare. When you enroll, you have 2 options to choose from. You can enroll as a participating provider or as a nonparticipating provider. Participating Provider

There is much misinformation being shared regarding Medicare beneficiaries and the ability of therapists in private practice to collect cash from a Medicare beneficiary for outpatient therapy services. In this article, I will answer the following questions:

I am often asked must physical therapists (PTs), occupational therapists (OTs), and speech-language pathologists (SLPs) in private practice enroll in the Medicare program if they want to treat Medicare beneficiaries for outpatient therapy services that are covered by the Medicare program? This then leads to a second question I am often asked. If PTs, OT’s and SLPs must enroll in the Medicare program, what is this non-participating provider status? Doesn’t this mean I don’t participate with Medicare, hence, I can charge the Medicare beneficiary cash for outpatient therapy services? How about services that are statutorily non-covered by the Medicare program;