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Last Updated: 12/1/2009

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City: BETHESDA
State: Maryland
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Wednesday, June 24, 2009 


You can now subscribe to our Podcasts and receive them as they are made available on iTunes and listen to them there or on your ipod or iphone. 

Please click HERE To subscribe
2:38 PM 
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Wednesday, June 03, 2009 
Click HERE for more info
 
Join colleagues from around the country in advocating for OT! This year the theme for Virtual Hill Day is AOTA’s Home Health bill, the Medicare Home Health Flexibility Act (HR 1094). Health care reform has created a perfect storm of opportunity that has the potential to allow passage of the bill and remove a long standing problem for the profession. We can do this now, but we need YOUR help! Passage of HR 1094 cannot and will not wait another year!
“As a part of the Centennial Vision, we are pushing forward to strengthen occupational therapy’s role in enhancing the well-being and functional status of older adults so they are more likely to remain safely in their homes. Passage of the Medicare Flexibility Act and gaining initiating service status in Medicare home health will go a long way to raise the profile of occupational therapy and would be a great victory for the profession. Due to the current emphasis on the ‘medical home’ as part of the thinking behind healthcare reform, the time for passage of this bill has come and we need everyone’s help to make that happen. If any healthcare service belongs in the home, it is occupational therapy with its emphasis upon performance and participation in context.”                                                                                                                                                            --- AOTA President Penny Moyers Cleveland 

Please personalize and send a message using the form letter provided, alsoPLEASE call your Member of Congress and ask them to support the Medicare Home Health Flexibility Act. Multiple contacts with Congressional staff is necessary to make sure they know how important this bill is to you and the profession.
The Medicare Home Health Flexibility Act (HR 1094)
Representatives John Lewis (D-GA) and Lincoln Diaz-Balart introduced legislation that would improve utilization of occupational therapy as a home health service under Medicare on February 13, 2009. The Medicare Home Health Flexibility Act (H.R.1094) is also actively supported by the National Association of Home Care and Hospice (NAHC), the American Speech-Language Hearing Association (ASHA) and was previously supported by the American Physical Therapy Association in the last Congress. 
AOTA is working with our Congressional champions and previous supporters of the legislation to build support for passage during the 111th Congress. AOTA is pleased to work with Representative John Lewis again this Congress as he is a well respected member of the Ways & Means Committee that has jurisdiction over Medicare law. Representative Lincoln Diaz-Balart is a leader among moderate Republicans and has been a valued long-time supporter of occupational therapy on this home health issue. Their leadership and support is greatly appreciated.
AOTA Position:
AOTA fully supports passage of The Medicare Home Health Flexibility Act (H.R. 1094) to make occupational therapy an initiating service for Medicare home health services. Current Medicare law creates an imbalance among skilled therapy services and restricts efficient staff utilization for home health agencies and must be corrected. Limiting access to occupational therapy in the home health setting causes agencies to provide care according to restrictions rather than what is in the best medical interest of their patients. Placing occupational therapy on a more equal footing with the qualifying services provides home health agencies and Medicare beneficiaries with improved access to the most appropriate service to meet their needs. This legislation would improve efficiency and effectiveness of home health for Medicare beneficiaries by allowing occupational therapists to conduct the initial home health assessments when occupational therapy is listed on the physician's order along with a qualifying service. This change in policy would be limited to rehabilitation only cases.
 
Background:

The inequality of occupational therapy not being an initiating service for Medicare home health benefits has been a problem for over thirty years. Occupational therapy was included in Medicare as a free standing benefit in 1987 but is not eligible as an initiating service for home health service. This problem must be addressed through legislation. Current law limits the appropriate use of occupational therapy in the home health setting and negatively impacts outcomes for home health care recipients by barring clinically indicated and physician authorized services. As an important step forward, the newly proposed legislation would allow occupational therapists to conduct the initial assessment when there is a qualifying service on the physician order. This will allow home health agencies to more efficiently use their occupational therapists to meet patient needs. The proposal is budget neutral as it does not expand Medicare eligibility or services but improves the flexibility of home health agencies to use the most appropriate skilled therapists to open cases.
 
Contact:  
Tim Nanof, AOTA Federal Affairs Manager, fad@aota.org, 301-652-2682
Ralph Kohl, AOTA Legislative Representative, rkohl@aota.org, 301-652-1682
3:47 PM 
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Wednesday, June 03, 2009 
Use savings code OSP0509 Now through June 12, 2009 to receive 15% discount on ALL AOTA Books and CE products. 
Shop Online http://store.aota.org or call 800-404-AOTA 

3:40 PM 
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Friday, March 13, 2009 
April is OT Month!
Start celebrating today! Show your OT pride and reward your hard-working occupational therapy team with gifts from AOTA's 2009 OT Month catalog. These new items feature the occupational therapy brand, Living Life To Its Fullest!

All the products in AOTA's 2009 OT Month catalog are available at www.promoteOT.com They're the perfect way to increase morale and build an even stronger occupational therapy team.

Want a catalog? Log on and request or download the entire 16-page catalog today!


http://www.aota.org/News/Consumer/OT-Month.aspx
2:27 PM 
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Tuesday, February 03, 2009 
Hosted By:
AOTA

When:
Thursday, April 23, 2009

Where:
George R. Brown Convention Center
1001 Avenida de las Americas
Houston, Texa
77010

Description:
ENERGY! Create it. Share it Registration for the 2009 AOTA Annual Conference & Expo is now open! Visit www.aota.org/conference for details!

Click Here To View Event
5:01 PM 
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Wednesday, January 28, 2009 

Media coverage is an important part of raising public awareness about occupational therapy practice and research. Here two new sites that offer some of the most recent stories covered in print and online. Please bookmark these sites and come back as they are updated often.

http://www. aota. org/News/Media/OT-News. aspx

http://occupational-therapy. alltop. com/


2:46 PM 
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Monday, December 15, 2008 

Category: News and Politics

Health care is a top priority for President-elect Obama and for Senator Tom Daschle, who has just been named, Secretary-designate for Health and Human Services (HHS). The Obama administration is encouraging organizations and individuals to host health care discussions and provide feedback to the new administration in their efforts to enact health care reform from the "ground up".

The American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) will be hosting an hour long Live Chat Health Care Reform Town Hall Meeting on Thursday December 18, 2008 at 7 pm EST.  The meeting will be open to AOTA members, occupational therapy practitioners and other interested individuals and organizations to discuss the health care reform issues and challenges facing the new administration.

Individuals can listen in and participate via phone or online via live chat.  The meeting will be open to 250 phone participants, 1,000s can listen in online. Participants can submit questions and comments via the live chat session. We will be recording this town hall live chat and it will be available to download at the end of the session.

AOTA encourages its members to invite non-members to learn about what AOTA does for the profession.

 To access the Live Chat go to: http://www.talkshoe.com/tc/28233  on December 18, 2008 at 7 pm EST.  To dial in call    (724) 444-7444  and use Call ID 28233

1:11 PM 
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Friday, December 12, 2008 
Want to promote occupational therapy everyday? Well now's your chance! To coincide with OT Month in April 2009, AOTA has set up an online store where you can buy anything and everything OT—from pens and sticky notes, to t-shirts and tote bags. Proudly display OT everywhere you go! Visit www.promoteOT.com today! It's the only place where you can get official AOTA gear like a stuffed bear, t-shirts and a whole lot more!





4:33 AM 
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Thursday, December 04, 2008 

Start your holiday season with BIG SAVINGS on ALL AOTA BOOKS and CE PRODUCTS. Browse the 2008 AOTA Product Catalog online to find exactly what you need!

12:12 AM 
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Monday, November 03, 2008 

Category: Podcast

AOTA is pleased to announce a new podcast series that features occupational therapists and their perspectives on consumer health topics. Helping people of all ages live life to its fullest—the goal of occupational therapy—is the fundamental purpose of this monthly series.


Current Podcast: Ergonomics(October 2008)
Next Podcast: Alzheimer's Disease (November 2008)







Dr. Karen Jacobs, EdD, CPE, OTR/L, FAOTA, and Paul A. Fontana, OTR, FAOTA, discuss ergonomic safety tips for the home, in learning centers, during play and leisure and while on the job.
9:27 PM 
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