[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 3] [Extensions of Remarks] [Page 3846] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]INTRODUCTION OF THE MEDICARE ORAL HEALTH REHABILITATIVE ENHANCEMENT ACT OF 2008 ______ HON. BILL PASCRELL, JR. of new jersey in the house of representatives Tuesday, March 11, 2008 Mr. PASCRELL. Madam Speaker, I rise today with my colleague Congressman Cantor (R-VA) to introduce budget neutral legislation that will strengthen and enhance the Medicare program by allowing dentists and the surgical arm of dentistry to refer their patients directly to physical therapy, PT, services. This necessary legislation will save significant time and Medicare resources by allowing qualified dental professionals to directly refer and establish their patient's rehabilitative process. This simple yet necessary legislative fix will permit physical therapy services to be furnished under the Medicare program to individuals under the care of a dentist. Current Medicare statute prohibits the direct referral of patients for PT under the care of dentists as well as oral and maxillofacial surgeons, OMS. Oral and maxillofacial surgeons, the surgical arm of dentistry, regularly treat patients with medical conditions that require physical therapy. These conditions include, but are not limited to, facial trauma such as jaw fractures, temporomandibular joint disorder, TMJ, and reconstruction procedures subsequent to pathological and/or congenital anomalies. Oral and maxillofacial surgeons undergo rigorous hospital-based education and training that allows them to perform complex surgical procedures of the head and neck. Nationally, they treat thousands of patients each year. Unfortunately, current Medicare law prohibits an oral and maxillofacial surgeon from directly referring their patients for physical therapy services. Instead, a dentist or OMS must first refer their patients back to an allopathic or osteopathic physician and work with such a physician to establish a therapy plan when an OMS believes physical therapy should be part of their patient's treatment. Such consultation has proven to be inefficient, unnecessary and cumbersome, and it ultimately delays patient treatment and the continuum of care. Congressman Cantor and I are proud to have crafted a budget neutral bill that will allow patients to access necessary PT services, restore their oral health and quality of life, and reduce unnecessary bureaucracy and cost that currently slow the rehabilitative process. My colleague and I would like to thank our local New Jersey and Virginia oral and maxillofacial surgical communities as well as the American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons, AAOMS, for supporting this legislation and working closely with us to improve patient access to oral health physical therapy services. ____________________