On March 1, 2021, I published an article titled “Supervision Requirements of Therapy Students Under the Medicare Program“. This article specifically addressed traditional Medicare. Of course, that article then led to questions regarding the supervision requirements of therapy students treating Medicare Advantage patients and do the traditional Medicare supervision requirements apply to Medicare Advantage plans. In this article, I will answer that question. QuestionDo the traditional Medicare supervision requirements of therapy students also apply to Medicare Advantage plans and their respective beneficiaries? Answer I hope this answer has helped you. Thank you for being a Gold Member!

QuestionCan therapy students treat TRICARE beneficiaries for outpatient physical, occupational and/or speech therapy services and have those services billed to the TRICARE program for reimbursement? Answer I hope you found this article helpful and informative and you now have a good understanding of therapy students treating TRICARE beneficiaries. Thank you for being a Gold Member!

I receive several questions per week regarding the supervision requirements of student physical, occupational and speech therapists, student physical therapist assistants and student occupational therapy assistants when they are treating Medicare patients. In this article, I will give the answers to the following questions: What are the supervision requirements of students when they are treating Medicare beneficiaries receiving outpatient therapy services? What are the supervision requirements of students when they are treating Medicare beneficiaries receiving therapy services in a skilled nursing facility under Part A benefits? What are the supervision requirements of students when they are treating Medicare beneficiaries receiving

A question I received today and thought was worthwhile to post and answer for my Gold Members relates to student supervision requirements in the outpatient therapy setting. Due to COVID-19, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has eased the supervision requirements of a physical therapist assistant (PTA) by the physical therapist (PT) and occupational therapy assistant (OTA) by the occupational therapist (OT) in the private practice setting through the later of the end of the calendar year in which the COVID-19 pandemic ends or December 31, 2021. To read more about this change, click HERE. The question I

A question I often receive is can a physical therapist (PT) student, physical therapist assistant (PTA) student, occupational therapist (OT), occupational therapy assistant (OTA) student or speech-language pathologist (SLP) student document in the medical record for a Medicare beneficiary receiving outpatient therapy services and if yes, what are the co-signature requirements? In this article, I will answer these 2 questions plus a third question applying it to Medicare Advantage and commercial insurance carriers. QuestionCan a PT student, PTA student, OT student, OTA student or SLP student document in the medical record for a Medicare beneficiary receiving outpatient therapy services? Answer

I am often asked if the time a student treats a Medicare patient for physical, occupational and/or speech therapy services, is that time billable to the Medicare program? In this article, I will answer this question as it applies to inpatient acute care, inpatient rehabilitation facilities, skilled nursing facilities providing Part A therapy services and outpatient therapy settings. QuestionIn the Inpatient Rehabilitation Facility (IRF) setting, do the minutes of therapy provided by the student therapist count towards the required 3-hours of therapy at least 5 days per week? Answer QuestionIn the inpatient hospital acute care setting, can therapy students treat

During a November 15, 2018 Inpatient Rehabilitation Facility (IRF) phone call, a Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) representative stated that according to hospital conditions of participation that Inpatient Rehabilitation Facilities (IRFs) must meet, students do not have a role in providing therapy or therapy minutes to patients, even under direct supervision of the licensed therapist. On December 11, 2018, the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA), American Occupational Therapy Association, and American Speech-Language-Hearing Association participated in a meeting with CMS. During the meeting, CMS indicated that there had been