I
119THCONGRESS
1
STSESSION H. R. 1171
To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to include physical therapists
and occupational therapists as health professionals for purposes of the
annual wellness visit under the Medicare program, and for other pur-
poses.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
FEBRUARY10, 2025
Mrs. M
ILLERof West Virginia (for herself and Ms. STANSBURY) introduced
the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and
Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on Ways and Means, for
a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for
consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the com-
mittee concerned
A BILL
To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to include
physical therapists and occupational therapists as health
professionals for purposes of the annual wellness visit
under the Medicare program, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-1
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Stopping Addiction 4
and Falls for the Elderly Act’’ or the ‘‘SAFE Act’’. 5
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SEC. 2. PHYSICAL THERAPY AND OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY 1
BENEFIT IN THE MEDICARE ANNUAL 2
WELLNESS VISIT AND INITIAL PREVENTIVE 3
PHYSICAL EXAM. 4
(a) A
NNUALWELLNESSVISIT.— 5
(1) I
N GENERAL.—Section 1861(hhh) of the 6
Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395x(hhh)) is 7
amended— 8
(A) in paragraph (1)— 9
(i) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘; 10
and’’ and inserting a semicolon; 11
(ii) in subparagraph (B)(ii), by strik-12
ing the period at the end and inserting ‘‘; 13
and’’; and 14
(iii) by adding at the end the fol-15
lowing new subparagraph: 16
‘‘(C) that, in the case of an individual who has 17
been determined by a physician to have fallen in the 18
previous calendar year, includes a falls risk assess-19
ment and fall prevention services.’’; and 20
(B) in paragraph (3)— 21
(i) in subparagraph (B), by striking 22
‘‘or’’ at the end; 23
(ii) in subparagraph (C), by striking 24
the period at the end and inserting ‘‘; or’’; 25
and 26
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(iii) by adding at the end the fol-1
lowing new subparagraph: 2
‘‘(D) in the case of an individual described in 3
paragraph (1)(C), a physical therapist or an occupa-4
tional therapist furnishing a separate falls risk as-5
sessment and fall prevention services.’’. 6
(2) E
FFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made 7
by paragraph (1) shall apply to annual wellness vis-8
its furnished on or after January 1, 2026. 9
(b) I
NITIALPREVENTIVE PHYSICALEXAMINA-10
TION.— 11
(1) I
N GENERAL.—Section 1861(ww)(2) of the 12
Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395x(ww)(2)) is 13
amended— 14
(A) in subparagraph (N), by moving the 15
margins of such subparagraph 2 ems to the 16
left; 17
(B) by redesignating subparagraph (O) as 18
subparagraph (P); and 19
(C) by inserting after subparagraph (N) 20
the following new subparagraph: 21
‘‘(O) In the case of an individual that has been 22
determined by a physician to have experienced a fall 23
in the previous calendar year, outpatient occupa-24
tional therapy services (as defined in subsection (g)) 25
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and outpatient physical therapy services (as defined 1
in subsection (p)).’’. 2
(2) E
FFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made 3
by paragraph (1) shall apply to initial preventive 4
physical examinations furnished on or after January 5
1, 2026. 6
SEC. 3. REPORTS TO CONGRESS. 7
Beginning January 1, 2027, and annually thereafter, 8
the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall submit 9
to Congress a report on the number of falls (as reported 10
by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) experi-11
enced by individuals aged 65 and older that received treat-12
ment for pain or injury related to a fall or falls experi-13
enced in the previous calendar year. With respect to each 14
subsequent report, such Secretary shall include the data 15
reported in previous years and describe any changes from 16
year to year. 17
Æ
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