SAMPLE LETTER FOR CO_PAY BILL

Simply copy and paste the letters into your word processing program and mail them to the capitol, customizing the text found in the brackets. Please remember to customize the text found inside the brackets.

[YOUR ADDRESS]

[DATE]

The Honorable Senator OR Assembly Member [_________]
New York State Senate OR Assembly
Albany, NY if Senate 12247 OR if Assembly 12248

Dear Senator[ _________](OR Assembly Member):[ _____________]

I am writing to request your support for S4321-A (Breslin) / A8171-A (Cahill) that will prevent managed care companies from requiring patients to pay excessively high co-payments for physical therapy (PT). Managed care companies continue to restrict access to PT services by imposing “specialty” co-pays of $40 or more per visit, limiting the frequency and duration of care a patient is able to afford. This practice unfairly treats physical therapy services, a routine health service, as a specialty service.

Specialty co-pays are intended for specialized medical services or medical specialties. This bill would prohibit a health payer from inappropriately shifting the cost of care onto consumers by prohibiting a co-payment to be no more than 20% of the approved amount.

The practice of treating independently practicing physical therapists as “specialists” has allowed health payers to require consumers to pay the entire or nearly the entire cost of physical therapy care. Since PT frequently requires multiple visits over an extended period of time as the practice of physical therapy works in conjunction with the healing process, many consumers are forced to pay nearly $600 per month in out-of-pocket expenses to receive physical therapy services. This is in addition to the cost of health insurance paid by the consumer or their employer. Decisions to reduce the frequency or duration of their care or not to even initiate physical therapy has led to poor outcomes and complications which only lead to higher costs for health care in the future. Fair co-pays lead to better outcomes. In these difficult economic times, it is a struggle for the average working patient to afford what they thought was a covered service. Physical therapy should not be grouped with the high specialist co-pays.

I urge you to support S.4321-A sponsored by Senator Breslin and A.8171-A sponsored by Assemblyman Cahill to end the imposition of excessively high co-pays
for New Yorkers for physical therapy services. I look forward to your reply.

Sincerely,

[Your Name]

5/09