Senate bill challenges CMS supervision policy

Members of the U.S. Senate Rural Health Caucus have introduced a bill that would allow general supervision by physician or nonphysician providers (NPPs) for many outpatient therapy services, politicalnews.me reported. S.1143, the Protecting Access to Rural Therapy Services (PARTS) Act, counters the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) requirement for direct supervision—where the physician or NPP must be immediately available to furnish assistance and direction throughout the performance of a procedure when Medicare beneficiaries receive outpatient therapy services.

The PARTS Act would allow general supervision by physicians or NPPs for many outpatient therapy services. Under general supervision, the procedure would be furnished under the physician’s or NPP’s overall direction and control, but the physician’s or NPP’s presence would not required during the procedure. The act would also require CMS to allow a default setting of general supervision, rather than direct supervision, for outpatient therapy services. CMS delayed enforcement of its direct supervision policy through 2013 for Critical Access Hospitals and other small, rural hospitals. The regulations are scheduled to go into effect in 2014.

Source: politicalnews.me