Each year, APTA seeks to nominate a member to serve on the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC). MedPAC is an agency of Congress whose mandate is to analyze access to care, quality of care, and other issues affecting Medicare and to advise Congress on payments to health plans participating in the Medicare Advantage program and providers in Medicare’s traditional fee-for-service program. MedPAC was established by the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 (42 U.S.C. 1395b-6 (2008)).
APTA Engage is being utilized to identify individuals who are interested in being nominated by APTA to serve on MedPAC. Potential candidates should have background and expertise in Medicare payment and coverage policies, and if selected, must be willing and able to represent the physical therapy profession in its entirety.
This is not an APTA-appointed position. When APTA nominates a candidate, the nomination is sent directly to the Comptroller General of the United States, the director of the Government Accountability Office (GAO), who is responsible for appointing individuals to serve as members of MedPAC. GAO is responsible for selecting appointees and any future communications on appointment status will come directly from GAO.
The commission’s 17 members serve 3-year terms (from May 1 to April 30), with the terms subject to renewal. Estimated time commitment is 25 hours per month (traveling to/from Washington DC to participate in 1.5 day meetings and time to review materials to prepare for each meeting). The law requires that the commission comprise a mix of individuals with expertise in the financing and delivery of health care services and have a broad geographic representation. Commissioners include physicians and other health professionals, employers, third-party payers, researchers with a variety of health-related expertise, and representatives of consumers and the elderly. For more information: http://medpac.gov/-about-medpac-.