Direct access bill is a compromise. The PT will inform the attending physician that treatment has initiated and if it is the attending physician's opinion that the treatment should be different, the physician's decision prevails. Fewer treatments are needed. People are able to return to their regular lifestyle faster. Workers' comp expenses were reduced in Maine at Bath Iron Works and L.L. Bean because the PT was immediately addressing the workers' problems.
Direct access encourages preventive care so that issues are resolved before they become problems.
And it helps people who need chronic care avoid the extra fee and time associated with renewing a referral. This bill requires PTs to explain that patients' insurance companies might not reimburse for PT services without a referral. However, in many states with direct access, insurance companies are now reimbursing since they realize that it actually saves money. New York needs to pass the direct access bill first, and then we can change the insurance law.