Physical Therapist Vacation Coverage | CMS Locum Tenens Guidelines 2022

by Anthony Maritato | Sep 12, 2022 | Medicare

Table of Contents

Physical Therapist Vacation Coverage Options?

There are 2 primary options that exist for a private practice physical therapy clinic to hire an outside physical therapist to treat Medicare beneficiaries while another physical therapist is on vacation, maternity leave, or any other extended episodes.

Option 1 – Hire a licensed physical therapist and reassign that therapist’s Medicare benefits to your private practice.
Option 2 – Determine if your physical therapy clinic may qualify under the CMS locum tenens guidelines 2022.

CMS Locum Tenens Guidelines 2022 Physical Therapist Vacation Coverage

Option 1 – Reassignment of Benefits

The easiest option to cover a physical therapist’s leave of absence or vacation time is to hire a replacement therapist and reassign that therapist’s benefits to your business.

Reassignment of benefits is free to do and may be done in less than 20-minutes using the Medicare PECOS system.

5-Step Process to Reassign Benefits

Step 1: Ask the newly hired physical therapist for their personal NPI.

Step 2: Create a connection using that NPI between your private practice and the covering physical therapist.

Step 3: Log into your personal PECOS account then click on My Associates and scroll down to your business’s enrollments. Click on Enrollments and click View/Manage Reassignments.

Step 4: At the bottom right of the next screen you should see an option to Manage Reassignments. Clicking this link will allow you to create a new reassignment.

Step 5: Enter the therapists information including social security number and date of birth. The reassignment will process and be approved.

Note: A private practice physical therapy clinic may allow a hired physical therapist to start treating patients while the reassignment application is being processed.

Option 2 – Determine if CMS Locum Tenens Guidelines 2022 Apply

Where is Locum Tenens Available?

Health Professional Shortage Area (HPSA)

“A Health Professional Shortage Area (HPSA) is a geographic area, population group, or health care facility that has been designated by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) as having a shortage of health professionals.” (link)

There are three categories of HPSAs:

Primary Care
Dental Health
Mental Health

Medically Underserved Area (MUA)

“MUAs and MUPs identify geographic areas and populations with a lack of access to primary care services. These designations help establish health maintenance organizations or community health centers.”