On October 1, 2010, Medicare changed the billing rules for physical therapy aide services when rendered in a skilled nursing facility (SNF).
According to Neal Logue, Health Insurance Specialist for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) San Francisco Regional Office, CMS will implement the MDS 3.0 for nursing homes and swing bed providers. This new change will affect how Skilled Nursing Facilities can bill physical therapy aide services as follows:
“With respect to physical therapy aide services, Chapter 3, Section O of the CMS’ RAI Version 3.0 Manual states that therapy aides cannot provide skilled services. Only the time a therapy aide spends on set-up for skilled services preceding individual therapy may be coded on the MDS (for example, set up the treatment area for wound therapy) and should be coded under individual minutes in O0400 Column 1. The therapy aide must be under direct supervision of the therapist or assistant.”
This new billing rule could impact your hiring decisions as you keep an eye on your bottom line. Right now at Preferred, we are gearing up for increased demand for PTAs and have sourced new PTAs to meet that need. If you anticipate needing more PTAs as a result of this new rule, call your Staffing Manager today so we can help you respond quickly to these Medicare change