TRICARE updated their physical therapy policy manual on February 26, 2020. Updates to this manual include Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS) and Dry Needling. In addition, TRICARE lists more than 16 interventions and services that are excluded from payment in this policy. If you treat TRICARE patients, this is a must-read policy. To access the policy, click

Effective with dates of service on and after April 16, 2020, TRICARE recognizes physical therapist assistants (PTAs) and occupational therapy assistants (OTAs) as TRICARE-Authorized Providers. On April 22, 2020, TRICARE updated their Policy Manual to include PTAs and OTAs. Highlights of the Policy Manual update include the following: Scope of practice of a PTA and OTA Supervision requirements of the PTA and OTA based on practice setting Reimbursement for services provided by a PTA or OTA Application of the CQ and CO modifier when services are provided in whole or in part by a PTA or OTA, respectively Payment differential

On March 16, 2020, the Department of Defense issued the long awaited Final Rule titled “TRICARE; Addition of Physical Therapist Assistants and Occupational Therapy Assistants as TRICARE-Authorized Providers” with an effective date of April 16, 2020. This means that beginning with dates of services on and after April 16, 2020, a physical therapist assistant (PTA) and occupational therapy assistant (OTA) are now considered a TRICARE-Authorized Provider. I originally wrote about this change in an article I published on March 16, 2020 for my Gold Members. On April 15, 2020, the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) published an article discussing the

QuestionDoes TRICARE pay for telehealth services for outpatient physical, occupational and/or speech therapy services? Answer QuestionWhat CPT code(s) do I use to bill for telehealth for TRICARE beneficiaries? AnswerThe TRICARE Policy Manual is not clear on what code(s) to use for telehealth services. Your first option is to contact TRICARE. Per the TRICARE Policy Manual, April 2015, Change 60 (March 13, 2020), Chapter 7, Medicine, Section 2.3.2.3, it states the following: “When billing for synchronous telemedicine services, providers will use CPT or HCPCS codes with a GT modifier for distant site and Q3014 for originating site to distinguish telemedicine services. In addition,

TRICARE has finally issued the long awaited final rule to add physical therapist assistants (PTAs) and occupational therapy assistants (OTAs) as TRICARE authorized providers to provide physical therapy or occupational therapy services under the supervision of a TRICARE-authorized physical therapist (PT) or occupational therapist (OT) in accordance with Medicare’s rules for supervision and qualification. TRICARE will implement I hope you enjoyed this article and this great news that has long been overdo. Thank you for being a Gold Member!

On December 20, 2018, the Department of Defense (DoD) released the long awaited proposed rule to add physical therapist assistants (PTAs) and occupational therapy assistants (OTAs) as TRICARE authorized providers. TRICARE accepted comments on the proposed rule until February 19, 2019. As of the date of this article being published, we I hope you found this article helpful. Thank you for being a Gold Member!  

The Department of Defense has released the long awaited proposed rule where the Department of Defense would add physical therapist assistants (PTA’s) and occupational therapy assistants (OTA’s) as TRICARE authorized providers. In summary, this proposed rule would add PTA’s and OTA’s as authorized TRICARE providers under the supervision of a TRICARE-authorized physical therapist or occupational therapist in accordance with Medicare’s rules for supervision and qualification when billed by under the supervising therapist’s national provider identification number. Regarding supervision requirements, TRICARE is proposing the same supervision requirements for PTA’s and OTA’s