HR 3968 Creates Opportunity for Respiratory Therapists !!!!


AARC has diligently pursued changes in Medicare that would bring patients greater access to respiratory therapists outside the hospital setting. Through support from both AARC members, pulmonary patients and the respiratory therapy community at large, we have taken one step closer to our goal. Congressman Mike Ross (D-AR) an influential member of the Health Subcommittee of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, introduced our Medicare Respiratory Therapy Initiative as HR 3968 which will, when passed by Congress, amend portions of the Pt. B Medicare law to allow certain respiratory therapists to deliver a broader array of services.

We are well on our way to seeing this major step forward in the recognition of respiratory therapists under Medicare.

What is the Initiative About?
Currently, Medicare Pt. B recognizes a number of medical and other health care services that can be furnished by non-physician practitioners, but respiratory therapy services and respiratory therapists are not among them.

HR 3968 will permit respiratory therapists with an RRT and bachelor's degree to furnish respiratory therapy services without the physician having to be physically present at the time the service is being rendered. This means flexibility for the physician and new opportunities for the respiratory therapist outside of the hospital.

This issue is important to all therapists in this profession, not just those who would be eligible to practice under these new rules. Permitting more options of where, when and under more flexible supervision a RRT can provide services opens doors for everyone's future. The legislation would also provide an important avenue for documentation of respiratory therapy services that would provide evidence of the respiratory therapist's value. This is a professional issue that every RT can get behind.

By changing the law, the HR 3968 could also expand opportunities for the respiratory therapist with an RRT and a bachelor's degree to perform tasks outside of the physician's office. For example, a physician could send a respiratory therapist to a patient's home for a medically necessary ventilator check that the physician would otherwise have had to personally perform.

We emphasize that this bill would not change the current work or future work of respiratory therapists who do not have the combined RRT/bachelor's degree qualifications. Those respiratory therapists who do not meet these qualifications will continue to be employed as they are now.

Now that we have a bill in the House of Representatives, HR 3968, we can strongly advocate for co-sponsorship by House members.

You can read more details about this initiative by clicking here!!

What Can You Do?
We are calling on all respiratory therapists to contact your member of the House of Representatives asking them to co-sponsor HR 3968. Please use Capitol Connection to send your email. We've included a draft message, but the more original you make it the more impact it will have.

Your efforts will ultimately help the Medicare beneficiaries gain greater access to the respiratory therapist and the services you provide.

Allen Wentworth, MEd, RRT

CSRC President