All it awaits is signature by the Governor.

What started out as a mere attempt to introduce legislation in a KY “short session” steamrolled.  As previously detailed, the impact of excessively high copays brought through insurance company gaming, is at least being derailed in Kentucky. While insurance companies will be able to charge what they want, copays for physical therapy will be aligned with primary care physicians and not some invented “specialty” category.  Based on fairly extensive surveys, the current amounts are drastically different.

Our efforts were substantially aided by tireless lobbyists for both physical and occupational therapy associations, extensive grassroots efforts by members, and the association email blasts with linkeage to a great legislative platform that essentially customized each email to that therapists specific representatives-pretty nifty.  Committed stances by Representatives in the House and Senate (including one who is a PT) go a long way to the cause.

What it didn’t take was much money-just good old fashioned elbow grease.  While our bill may seem bold, consider the optometrists who were able to get passage on expansion of practice such that they are now allowed to do surgical procedures that haven’t been invented.  Or, nurses who have prescriptive authority without any physician involvement.  While we are ecstatic about our victory, it is pretty lightweight compared to those.

Get organized, be bold, and go for it.  PT’s don’t go in front of legislators very often and when we do we have great patient testimonies, empirical evidence, and a host of intangibles that at the end of the day are easy to understand and resonate with many.  While you can never underestimate the power of the political process, you can prevail.

Now it’s time to help our California friends.

@physicaltherapy