[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 41 (Tuesday, March 11, 2008)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E351]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




INTRODUCTION OF THE MEDICARE ORAL HEALTH REHABILITATIVE ENHANCEMENT ACT 
                                OF 2008

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. BILL PASCRELL, JR.

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, March 11, 2008

  Mr. PASCRELL. Madam Speaker, I rise today with my colleague 
Congressman Cantor (R-VA) to introduce budget neutral legislation that 
will strengthen and enhance the Medicare program by allowing dentists 
and the surgical arm of dentistry to refer their patients directly to 
physical therapy, PT, services. This necessary legislation will save 
significant time and Medicare resources by allowing qualified dental 
professionals to directly refer and establish their patient's 
rehabilitative process.
  This simple yet necessary legislative fix will permit physical 
therapy services to be furnished under the Medicare program to 
individuals under the care of a dentist. Current Medicare statute 
prohibits the direct referral of patients for PT under the care of 
dentists as well as oral and maxillofacial surgeons, OMS.
  Oral and maxillofacial surgeons, the surgical arm of dentistry, 
regularly treat patients with medical conditions that require physical 
therapy. These conditions include, but are not limited to, facial 
trauma such as jaw fractures, temporomandibular joint disorder, TMJ, 
and reconstruction procedures subsequent to pathological and/or 
congenital anomalies. Oral and maxillofacial surgeons undergo rigorous 
hospital-based education and training that allows them to perform 
complex surgical procedures of the head and neck. Nationally, they 
treat thousands of patients each year.
  Unfortunately, current Medicare law prohibits an oral and 
maxillofacial surgeon from directly referring their patients for 
physical therapy services. Instead, a dentist or OMS must first refer 
their patients back to an allopathic or osteopathic physician and work 
with such a physician to establish a therapy plan when an OMS believes 
physical therapy should be part of their patient's treatment. Such 
consultation has proven to be inefficient, unnecessary and cumbersome, 
and it ultimately delays patient treatment and the continuum of care.
  Congressman Cantor and I are proud to have crafted a budget neutral 
bill that will allow patients to access necessary PT services, restore 
their oral health and quality of life, and reduce unnecessary 
bureaucracy and cost that currently slow the rehabilitative process.
  My colleague and I would like to thank our local New Jersey and 
Virginia oral and maxillofacial surgical communities as well as the 
American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons, AAOMS, for 
supporting this legislation and working closely with us to improve 
patient access to oral health physical therapy services.

                          ____________________