On July 14, 2026, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released the calendar year (CY) 2027 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS) proposed rule. This proposed rule does have regulatory and reimbursement implications for outpatient physical, occupational, and speech therapy provided in all outpatient therapy settings. In this article, I will provide my members with the estimated payment amounts for calendar year 2027 for the more common CPT codes billed in outpatient physical, occupational and speech therapy compared to the 2026 payment rate for each CPT code. For my examples, I used the national payment averages for each CPT

On July 14, 2026, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released the calendar year (CY) 2027 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS) proposed rule. This proposed rule does have regulatory and reimbursement implications for outpatient physical, occupational, and speech therapy provided in all outpatient therapy settings. In this article, I will inform you of what CMS is proposing on the following topics:

Are you aware that you can use a physician order in lieu of a physician signing your initial plan of care? You didn’t? Don’t feel bad, you are not alone! Reviewers at your Medicare Administrative Contractor who are reviewing your outpatient therapy documentation are unaware as well. When Did This Change Occur? What Was The Change? What Criteria Must be Met for an Order to Serve as a POC? Which Frequency and Duration Do I Use? What Outpatient Therapy Settings Does This Change Apply To? Where Can I Obtain Additional Information on this Topic?

This 1.5 hour webinar will dispel over 20 common myths that exist in outpatient physical, occupational and speech therapy.

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

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

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:

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: