At AMRPA, we are working tirelessly to advance the field of medical rehabilitation through advocacy, education, and the promotion of access to care. In 2023, AMRPA launched a number of new policy and operational initiatives and scored a number of victories for members through robust engagement with the Administration and Congressional leaders.
As the association’s membership grows, AMRPA continually identifies and fosters Congressional relationships that correlate with our expanding national presence, which ensures that AMRPA continues to be the leading policy voice for inpatient rehabilitation. On the regulatory side, AMRPA engaged extensively with the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and other senior Administration officials in efforts to both champion AMRPA’s regulatory priorities as well as successfully oppose potential policy threats. AMRPA will continue these and other efforts as the post-acute care landscape continues to rapidly evolve.
Successfully Addressing Payer Coverage & Contractor Auditing Issues
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Spearheaded a comprehensive, field-wide response to the initiation of the IRF Review Choice Demonstration, including providing education and training for members, securing essential program refinements from CMS and its contractors, and engaging with key policymakers and partner organizations.
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Secured finalization of long-term AMRPA advocacy goals for reforming the use of prior authorization and other utilization management policies by Medicare Advantage plans in CMS rulemaking.
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Continued successful partnerships with post-acute care organizations to jointly advocate for enhanced monitoring and enforcement of pending Medicare Advantage coverage reforms.
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Worked closely with the FAIR Fund and leadership at the CMS Center for Program Integrity (CPI) to provide member hospitals relief from egregious auditing practices, including through a successful member-driven meeting with CPI leadership.
Fiercely Advocating for IRFs in Current Payment Models & Any Future Reform Efforts
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Through close collaboration with allied post-acute care groups and other stakeholders, AMRPA successfully advocated against the advancement of a unified post-acute care payment model and the long-anticipated recommendation of such model to Congress.
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Helped educate policymakers and highlight the distinct services provided by inpatient rehabilitation hospitals through two in-person tours with the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) team.
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Currently engaged in extensive advocacy with policymakers to counter notions of “interchangeability” between IRF and skilled nursing providers and ensure that future payment reform efforts clearly reflect the value of IRF care.
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Secured a positive payment update in the FY 2024 IRF payment rule, reflecting one of the highest-ever market basket updates issued to the field.
Reducing Members’ Compliance Risks in the Quality Reporting Program (QRP) and Helping Lead QRP Modernization Efforts
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Mitigated risk of non-compliance determinations for patients identified as unplanned discharges where CMS guidance instructed providers to utilize non-compliant assessment values.
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Partnered with the FAIR Fund to aid, support, and produce resources for providers to file Reconsideration Requests with the intent to overturn the CMS determination of non-compliance and avoid a 2% reduction to the annual increase factor.
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Ensuring that future quality measures are reliable, valid, and patient-centered through AMRPA representation on key committees and technical expert panels.
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Attained membership with the Partnership for Quality Measurement (PQM) and successfully nominated Karl Sandin, M.D., M.P.H. as an AMRPA representative for the Pre-Rulemaking Measure Review (PRMR) Post-Acute Care (PAC)/Long-Term Care (LTC) committee, which will review quality measures for use in future rulemaking.
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Successfully nominated Bruce A. Pomeranz, M.D., M.M.M. as an AMRPA representative to the CMS Standing Technical Expert Panel (TEP) for the Development, Evaluation, and Maintenance of PAC and Hospice QRP Measurement Sets.
Prioritizing Patient & Research-Focused Advocacy
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Successfully advanced groundbreaking Medicare coverage of seat elevation systems in power wheelchairs in partnership with the Independence Through Enhancement of Medicare and Medicaid (ITEM) Coalition.
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Partnered with patient and provider organizations in the Disability & Rehabilitation Research Coalition (DRRC) to achieve a health disparity designation for people with disabilities at the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD).
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Maintained active involvement in advocacy coalitions supporting access to rehabilitation care, prior authorization reform, disability and rehabilitation research, and coverage of assistive devices and technologies.
Other Member-Driven 2023 Successes
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Continued close engagement with the U.S. News Team to ensure AMRPA member perspectives are captured in the yearly rehabilitation hospital ranking methodology.
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Maintain strong relationships across federal and state-level post-acute care stakeholders, including staff-led presentations and advocacy updates at member hospitals.
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Developed IRF-specific educational resources to help members navigate key policy developments, including the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency (PHE) waiver termination and commencement of the Review Choice Demonstration.
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Hosted first AMRPA-hosted Political Action Committee (PAC) event and successfully administered first in-person fly-in following the COVID-19 PHE to bolster AMRPA’s Congressional relationships and impact.
The AMRPA communications and marketing program aligns with the strategic goal of positioning the association as the leading authority and voice for the field, as well as a vehicle to get information and resources to the consumer audience. AMRPA’s operational and education programs have established the association as the premier source of professional development for the IRF field.
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Celebrated National Rehabilitation Awareness Week with a comprehensive social media campaign including insights from AMRPA leaders
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Launched the third season Medical Rehab Matters. This award-winning podcast discusses the conditions treated and therapies used in inpatient medical rehab hospitals and units while addressing some of the legislative and regulatory issues that impact patients and their families and caregivers.
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Continued to develop and strengthen AMRPA’s consumer-oriented microsite, which serves as a patient and caregiver information center. The microsite is the recipient of a Digital Health Award, which honored the world’s best digital health resources.