APTA Top Advocacy Priorities Established for 2025-26

APTA National

As our health care system continues to evolve and adapt, so do APTA's public policy priorities. Coinciding with the new congressional session, APTA has released "APTA Public Policy Priorities, 2025-2026." This updated legislative and policy agenda reflects progress made in 2024, particularly on the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule, while focusing on how the profession can continue to have an impact moving forward.
Developed by the APTA Public Policy and Advocacy Committee, informed by a range of member experts, and approved by the APTA Board of Directors, the priorities establish a road map for the association's advocacy efforts on behalf of PTs and PTAs. The document reflects the changing state of the health care world, with specific references to the need to increase payment and decrease administrative burden, while recognizing emerging issues such as the use of artificial intelligence in health care.

Collaborating on Top Priorities

The eight-page document isn't intended to list every advocacy effort APTA will undertake in the next two years but instead highlights the overarching themes of APTA's legislative work. As in previous versions of this document, there are four core areas of focus:
  • Patient Access and Care: APTA urges Congress and the administration to improve patient outcomes by eliminating barriers to health care services.

  • Population Health and Social Determinants of Health: APTA urges Congress and the administration to enact policies that empower all people regardless of where they are born, live, learn, work, play, worship, and age to live healthy and independent lives.

  • Value-Based Care and Practice: APTA urges Congress and the administration to facilitate and support payment infrastructures that will ensure that patients achieve the best outcomes commensurate with the cost of care.

  • Research and Clinical Innovation: APTA urges Congress and the administration to prioritize research and clinical innovation to advance the science, effectiveness, and efficacy of physical therapist evaluation and management to optimize the health, well-being, and recovery of individuals, communities, and populations across the lifespan.
The priorities offer a high-level view for legislators, partners, and members to see what APTA is focusing on in terms of legislation and regulation, says APTA Vice President Skye Donovan, PT, PhD, who chairs PPAC...

Read Full Article