Congressman Jim Langevin recently visited the Warwick office of Elite Physical Therapy.

Elite Physical Therapy’s founder, Dr. Michael Nula, and co-owner Jason Harvey provided the congressman with a tour of the facility, introduced him to the staff and some patients, and discussed healthcare and physical therapy. Harvey, also the president of the Rhode Island Chapter of the American Physical Therapy Association, shared some objectives within the physical therapy profession to improve patient access to cost-effective, natural and safe treatment solutions for pain.

He was able to bring the discussion locally as they discussed Rhode Island’s opioid crisis, the impact of the ACA (Affordable Healthcare Act), and the possible issues that could arise from the passage of the AHCA (American Health Care Act). Harvey was able to discuss how some local legislation, that is being reviewed at the State House, could possibly be adopted nationwide to help all of our citizens have access to the best, most effective and safe treatment options.  From patient co-payments to consumer protection, they were able to discuss how physical therapy can help today’s healthcare system continue to become more efficient with better outcomes.

“Congressman Langevin has always been a tremendous supporter of the initiatives that are important to the physical therapy industry. We welcomed the opportunity to thank him and foster a relationship that helps to collaborate on solutions to an ever-changing landscape in healthcare,” said Harvey in a statement. “His tireless work to help improve healthcare throughout the country is what led us to wanting to discuss some real, in the trenches and on the front line, issues that face patients and providers. Today’s system is confusing to the consumer and we feel like this is an important time to engage our elected officials in the conversation that will shape our future,” said Harvey.

Julia Milner, doctor of physical therapy and director at Elite’s Cranston office, also attended the conference and was able to expand on the scope of services that physical therapists are trained to deliver. She was able to cover services such as dry needling, women’s health, vestibular, concussion management, and lymphedema. As the Rhode Island Federal Affairs Liaison, Milner was also able to say thank you for supporting the Rehabilitative Research legislation that passed in congress last year. Earlier this year, she spent three days in Washington discussing issues regarding Medicare and serving underserved populations.

On behalf of the American Physical Therapy Association, Nula and Harvey discussed ways in which direct access to physical therapy would be helpful to Medicare patients. They also discussed Physical Therapy students remaining eligible to benefit from the Government’s student loan repayment program. Nula and Harvey shared ideas to make the complex and inefficient payment system with physical therapy and rehabilitation services simplified, including co-payment legislation to decrease the cost of patients’ co-payments.

Nula and Harvey believe that taking these actions will improve patient access to safe, physical therapy care. This in turn can have the capacity to save the entire healthcare system billions of dollars, strengthen quality care to Americans, and help Physicians keep up with the growing need for providing immediate medical attention to Americans.

“This is such a critical time for our government and healthcare professionals to work together and make some important decisions that will profoundly impact America’s healthcare system,” Nula said in a statement. “America’s healthcare system is evolving and changing right now, and we need to make sure that the infrastructure is updated so that quality care delivery is not compromised.”