There has been lots of talk on capitol hill about Medicare insurance coverage and changes for all Medicare beneficiaries, including changes in physical therapy coverage. Medicare changes coverage limitations annually and you may have noticed your deductible has gone up over the years. A deductible is the portion of your insurance contract you must pay out of pocket before your insurance benefits ‘kick in’. On a side note, many patients have a supplemental insurance, mainly to cover their out-of-pocket costs. Not all supplement insurances cover the deductible. For 2018 the Medicare deductible is $183 dollars. Let’s say the deductible is met and your doctor just handed you a prescription for physical therapy.

What now? What will it cost? Medicare is willing to cover 80% of all medically necessary physical therapy fees. You are responsible for the remaining 20%. Again, this is where a supplement ‘kicks in” to pick up the 20% of allowable physical therapy expenses… but Medicare has implemented a cap. A cap refers to a therapy cap, which is the maximum amount of dollars your Medicare insurance plan will cover for out-patient physical therapy in a clinic each annual year. For the billing year of 2018 the current therapy cap = $2010 dollars in skilled, medically necessary physical therapy services.

What if I exceed the cap? The government tried to pass a law to implement a FIRM cap, meaning no exceptions to this dollar amount no matter your pre-existing complicated conditions. GOOD NEWS! This FIRM therapy cap was overturned in the late hours of February 9th- due to active lobbying on capital hill for your rights by APTA and its members who wrote their senators. I have been an active member since 2009 with the American Physical Therapy Association and proudly support advocacy for health and wellness.

What does this mean now? The repeal came with additional consequences, one being automatic audit of any physical therapist that exceeds the $2010 cap- but not a firm denial of payment, just an investigation into why this physical therapist or therapy company continued to treat you.

What is my point? Medicare patients need to educate themselves on insurance limitations and be given quality skilled physical therapy every session. At Moab Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation, we guarantee individual skilled therapy treatment to address your needs and help you reach YOUR goals. We do not drive up daily billing costs for unnecessary treatment or observe exercises that could be completed at home. You will work one on one with a licensed provider at each appointment and we do our best to keep you with the SAME licensed provider during your plan of care.

HOW does this help you? Patients at Moab PT and Rehab reach functional goals in fewer clinic sessions with lower billable insurance fees. Moab PT and Rehab strives to provide research-based techniques helping you maintain your functional improvements long after your plan of care ends.

Many of us live in Moab for the community and the recreational activities it affords us. I want to help you continue to enjoy the reasons you live in Moab. If you have further Medicare questions or would like to come in for an evaluation, contact your medical doctor for a physical therapy referral. Moab Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation is located on Center Street near the visitor center. Follow us on FACEBOOK @ Moab Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation, or Instagram & Twitter @MoabPT. We look forward to working with you! And be sure to mention you heard about it in the Moab Happenings.

Confronted with the stresses of raising a family, a job that required a grant approval every year, and a shaky economy, Michelle Peterson decided to get a college degree that would guarantee a steady job. Unable to relocate for school, Peterson found a solution at Utah State University (USU).

“On a whim, I stopped by USU-Moab and spoke with an advisor there,” said Peterson. “I told him I liked helping people in need and wanted to obtain an education with a secure future.” It was immediately recommended she look into the nursing program. Now, seven years later, Peterson is the operating room nurse manager at Moab Regional Hospital (MRH).

To help pay for school, Peterson kept her job with Grand County, where she worked as a victim advocate, helping victims of sexual assault, burglary, and more. When she wasn’t at work, she was busy with school. “With two small children and a husband at home, USU-Moab’s student center and I became very good friends,” said Peterson. “The close location allowed me to do homework on campus after my full-time job, then return to my family in the evening.”

Staying in her hometown with family and friends was a major reason Peterson was able to successfully earn her degree. The nursing program is very strenuous and enforces very high standards. With time, her support system grew to include faculty and staff at USU-Moab. “The employees at the college knew me by name, they knew my family, and believed I would make a great nurse,” said Peterson. “When things got tough they were always there to lend a listening ear and give me the confidence boost I needed to succeed.”

Upon making it through school and earning her nursing degree, Peterson passed the licensure exam to become a registered nurse and was offered a job at MRH. Peterson said it has been a dream being able to work where she was born in and where she delivered her two children. USU-Moab works closely with MRH, sending students there for clinicals and hands-on training, then providing employment for a majority of the students once they graduate. Many of the nursing staff, including Peterson, serve as mentors to nursing students.

According to Peterson, the relationship USU has with MRH, along with the opportunities and environment provided by USU, helped prepare her for her current job. “The support from professors and advisors, the quality of the education, and the clinical experiences offered at USU all gave me what I needed to do the job I now love and appreciate every day.”

Peterson explains that nursing school is a rigorous journey leading to an amazing reward. “Nursing school isn’t easy by any means, and being a nurse isn’t easy, either. It’s a high demand, stressful job, but the benefits far outweigh the negatives.” USU’s nursing curriculum prepares students not only to pass the state’s licensure exam, but also to tackle the tough, everyday problems nurses face. Peterson is better able to face the challenges of her current job thanks to the difficult testing, clinicals at MRH, and other skills she acquired through nursing school.

Those who are thinking about a career in nursing, and whether or not USU’s nursing program is right for them, Peterson recommends talking to an advisor, like she did. “USU-Moab helped me every step of the way. They helped me fill out financial paperwork, enroll in needed classes, and they were invested in my success.”

If you are interested in USU-Moab’s nursing program, visit moab.usu.edu.

The Family Support Center at The Christmas Box House will be hosting once again the “Planting of the Pinwheels” in front of the Grand County Courthouse at the Children’s Garden on April 3, 2018 from 3:30pm-5pm.

April was first declared Child Abuse Prevention Month by presidential proclamation in 1983. Since then, April has been a time to acknowledge the importance of families and communities working together to prevent child abuse.

The pinwheel serves as the national symbol for child abuse prevention. It is a reflection of hope, health, and safety---what PCAU (Prevent Child Abuse Utah) and the parent organization, Prevent Child Abuse America, desire for children throughout Utah and everywhere. Pinwheels for Prevention is a nationwide public awareness campaign that puts of new spin of prevention.

So please come and join us at the Grand County Courthouse on April 3, 2018 to plant a pinwheel for a child that isn’t able to do so for themselves. This year we will add your name on the pinwheel you plant if you choose. Enjoy a PB&J, chips, and a drink as well! Bring a blanket and have a picnic! Tourist welcome.

Often times parents are under a lot of different stresses that cause them to just need a respite break. That is one of the many services the Family Support Center @ The Christmas Box House provides. A respite break for parents sometimes needing one. Please call our center 24/7 days a week at 435.259.1658.

To report suspected cases of child abuse or neglect in Utah the toll free number is 1.800.323.3237. An intake worker will take the information down and forward it to the local DCFS office.