Ensign wants removal of Medicare rehabilitation

Monday, May 18, 1998 | 9:47 a.m.

Rep. John Ensign, R-Nev., has introduced legislation to improve senior citizens' access to rehabilitation services.

Ensign's bill, introduced last week, would remove a $1,500 cap on Medicare-covered services, including physical and speech therapy.

"The limit on rehabilitation services should have never been enacted in the first place and it's my goal to correct the injustice," Ensign said. "I know from talking with Nevada's seniors how important this issue is to them."

Ensign said the $1,500 cap creates an immense hardship for seniors seeking treatment for debilitating conditions such as strokes.

"The people affected by this cap have already suffered enough -- there's no reason to heap additional hardship on them while they're trying to get adequate care," Ensign said. "Seniors in need of intensive treatment should be able to concentrate on therapy without the extreme stress of a limit on their Medicare coverage."

Ensign said removing the rehabilitation limit not only is the right thing to do but also will save money in the long run by restoring independence and possibly preventing lengthy stays in nursing homes.

"A $1,500 cap will force seniors in need to either abandon the intensive therapy they require or settle for substandard care," Ensign said. "If that happens, we all lose."

The cap was included in the Balanced Budget Act of 1997. If the cap on physical and speech therapy is not repealed, it will go into effect Jan. 1, 1999.

The Nevada Health Care Association has joined a number of national organizations coming out in strong support of Ensign's amendment to the Balanced Budget Act.

"There is no rational basis for including physical therapy and speech-language pathology under the same cap," noted Winthrop Cashdollar, executive director of the state HCA.