![\"\"](\"https:\/\/blog.uwsp.edu\/cps\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/09\/Rinehart-blog2-b.jpg\")
<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\nGovernment Affairs and Grassroots<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\nOne of my early takeaways this week is understanding the difference between the Government Affairs team and the grassroots team. While they overlap and collaborate daily, each plays a unique role in advocacy:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n- Government Affairs<\/strong>: Made up of professional lobbyists with years of Capitol Hill experience in law, policy, and politics. They attend daily events with members of Congress, collaborate with other healthcare lobbyists, and directly advance APTA\u2019s policy agenda. They\u2019re the boots on the ground in Washington.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Grassroots<\/strong>: Focused on mobilizing APTA\u2019s members\u2014PTs, PTAs and <\/em>patients\u2014into action. They recognize that modern practice is extremely time demanding across all PT scopes, and that many clinicians and students face financial constraints from tuition and today\u2019s economy. The grassroots team works hard to create innovative, quick and simple ways for members to participate meaningfully in advocacy, even with limited time or resources.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Both groups complement each other, and seeing the important work done by both has emphasized how deeply advocacy impacts clinical practice\u2014and why being an active member of the association matters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"US](\"http:\/\/blog.uwsp.edu\/cps\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/09\/Rinehart-blog2-c-1024x1024.jpg\")
<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\nFirst Event on the Hill<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\nThis week, I joined APTA lobbyists at an event hosted by the Republican Governance Group, a caucus of moderate House Republicans. Although Congress was delayed on the floor and members couldn\u2019t make it, I still had the chance to meet advocates from organizations like the American Medical Association (AMA), American Academy of Physician Associates (AAPA), and American Academy of Neurology (AAN). It was a valuable networking opportunity and the first of many events I\u2019ll attend in the weeks ahead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Key Issues in Play<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\nHere are a few of the active priorities I\u2019ve discussed this week:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n- Medicare Patient Access and Practice Stabilization Act<\/strong>: pushing for an inflationary update to the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS).<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Prevent Interruptions in Physical Therapy Act<\/strong>: giving PTs more flexibility in coverage during unexpected provider absences.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Telehealth<\/strong>: keeping PTs as authorized providers in Medicare beyond the September 30 expiration<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Telehealth in particular stood out to me, since I saw its value firsthand in rural western Alaska. With the right resources, progressive rehabilitation can be delivered virtually, helping bridge access gaps in isolated communities. DPTs are also trained far beyond the musculoskeletal system and can identify red flag symptoms\u2014even through telehealth\u2014ensuring patients are referred appropriately to physicians or emergency care when needed. Other important conversations included challenges within the TRICARE system affecting providers and military families, and expanding PT participation in the National Health Service Corps (NHSC). You can read more about APTA\u2019s current advocacy issues here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\nStudent Advocacy Spotlight<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\nFor students, one of the easiest ways to get involved is the upcoming APTA Flash Action Strategy<\/strong>,<\/a> happening September 17\u201318. This two-day event mobilizes students nationwide to use email and social media to reach members of Congress. This year\u2019s focus is the SAFE Act (H.R. 1171\/S. 2612)<\/strong>, which would promote referrals to PT when fall risk is identified during CMS annual wellness visits. Falls are a major driver of both medical complications and healthcare costs, and this bill could be a meaningful step forward in prevention.<\/p>\n\n\n\nSubmitting letters to Congress during events like this helps build co-sponsorship, which is critical for moving a bill toward law. The APTA works in a strategic bipartisan manner to keep bills progressing efficiently through Congress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Many of these advocacy priorities make immediate sense to PT students and licensed professionals\u2014but, just like with patients, legislators and policymakers need clear professional education before action can happen. At the end of the day, advocacy is education at its core. Thanks for following along, and I look forward to sharing more of this journey with you. Feel free to reach out<\/a>!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"Matthew](\"https:\/\/blog.uwsp.edu\/cps\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/09\/Rinehart-APTA-Headshot-683x1024.jpg\")
<\/figure>\nMatthew Rinehart is a graduate student in the Doctor of Physical Therapy program<\/a> at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. Originally from Winona, Minn., Matthew serves as the 2025 Alexa Posny Scholar<\/a>, interning with the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) at its headquarters in Alexandria, Va.<\/p>\n\n\n\nFollow along on his blog<\/a> and see additional photos on Facebook<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Every new experience comes with a learning curve, and this week I\u2019ve seen firsthand how much goes into advocacy at the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) headquarters. From the outside, it\u2019s easy to focus only on the big legislative pushes. But after my first few days as the 2025 Alexa Posny Scholar, I\u2019ve realized advocacy […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":13767,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,510,606,12,15,609,23],"tags":[512,305,342,343,344],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.uwsp.edu\/cps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13765"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.uwsp.edu\/cps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.uwsp.edu\/cps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uwsp.edu\/cps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uwsp.edu\/cps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13765"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uwsp.edu\/cps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13765\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13773,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uwsp.edu\/cps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13765\/revisions\/13773"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uwsp.edu\/cps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13767"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.uwsp.edu\/cps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13765"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uwsp.edu\/cps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13765"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uwsp.edu\/cps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13765"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
Both groups complement each other, and seeing the important work done by both has emphasized how deeply advocacy impacts clinical practice\u2014and why being an active member of the association matters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This week, I joined APTA lobbyists at an event hosted by the Republican Governance Group, a caucus of moderate House Republicans. Although Congress was delayed on the floor and members couldn\u2019t make it, I still had the chance to meet advocates from organizations like the American Medical Association (AMA), American Academy of Physician Associates (AAPA), and American Academy of Neurology (AAN). It was a valuable networking opportunity and the first of many events I\u2019ll attend in the weeks ahead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here are a few of the active priorities I\u2019ve discussed this week:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Telehealth in particular stood out to me, since I saw its value firsthand in rural western Alaska. With the right resources, progressive rehabilitation can be delivered virtually, helping bridge access gaps in isolated communities. DPTs are also trained far beyond the musculoskeletal system and can identify red flag symptoms\u2014even through telehealth\u2014ensuring patients are referred appropriately to physicians or emergency care when needed. Other important conversations included challenges within the TRICARE system affecting providers and military families, and expanding PT participation in the National Health Service Corps (NHSC). You can read more about APTA\u2019s current advocacy issues here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For students, one of the easiest ways to get involved is the upcoming APTA Flash Action Strategy<\/strong>,<\/a> happening September 17\u201318. This two-day event mobilizes students nationwide to use email and social media to reach members of Congress. This year\u2019s focus is the SAFE Act (H.R. 1171\/S. 2612)<\/strong>, which would promote referrals to PT when fall risk is identified during CMS annual wellness visits. Falls are a major driver of both medical complications and healthcare costs, and this bill could be a meaningful step forward in prevention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Submitting letters to Congress during events like this helps build co-sponsorship, which is critical for moving a bill toward law. The APTA works in a strategic bipartisan manner to keep bills progressing efficiently through Congress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Many of these advocacy priorities make immediate sense to PT students and licensed professionals\u2014but, just like with patients, legislators and policymakers need clear professional education before action can happen. At the end of the day, advocacy is education at its core. Thanks for following along, and I look forward to sharing more of this journey with you. Feel free to reach out<\/a>!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Matthew Rinehart is a graduate student in the Doctor of Physical Therapy program<\/a> at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. Originally from Winona, Minn., Matthew serves as the 2025 Alexa Posny Scholar<\/a>, interning with the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) at its headquarters in Alexandria, Va.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Follow along on his blog<\/a> and see additional photos on Facebook<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Every new experience comes with a learning curve, and this week I\u2019ve seen firsthand how much goes into advocacy at the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) headquarters. From the outside, it\u2019s easy to focus only on the big legislative pushes. But after my first few days as the 2025 Alexa Posny Scholar, I\u2019ve realized advocacy […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":13767,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,510,606,12,15,609,23],"tags":[512,305,342,343,344],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.uwsp.edu\/cps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13765"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.uwsp.edu\/cps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.uwsp.edu\/cps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uwsp.edu\/cps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uwsp.edu\/cps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13765"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uwsp.edu\/cps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13765\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13773,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uwsp.edu\/cps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13765\/revisions\/13773"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uwsp.edu\/cps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13767"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.uwsp.edu\/cps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13765"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uwsp.edu\/cps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13765"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uwsp.edu\/cps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13765"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\nFirst Event on the Hill<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Key Issues in Play<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
\n
Student Advocacy Spotlight<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
<\/figure>