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Health & Fitness

Capitol Report: June 27, 2013

Physical Therapy Co-Pay Parity

On June 25, Governor Nixon signed Senate Bill 159, “Physical Therapy Insurance Coverage,” into law. SB 159 requires parity between the out-of-pocket expenses charged for services performed by physical therapists and the out-of-pocket expenses charged by primary care physicians for similar services.

This law goes into effect on August 28 and will greatly benefit Missouri patients by allowing them to optimize their medical outcomes. The co-pay parity will encourage individuals to complete rehabilitation programs that will maximize the effectiveness of their post-injury or post-surgery recoveries. Finishing the therapy process will help patients avoid the chronic, and costly, problems that can arise from improper recovery.

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SB 159 is a widely popular fix that passed the Senate 34-0 and the House of Representatives 136-22. I was proud to support this bill by voting for it in the House and sending a letter to Governor Nixon requesting that he sign it into law.

Expense Account Update

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As we do each year, the legislature passed a balanced and fiscally responsible budget that supported vital state programs without raising taxes on hardworking Missourians. The duty to responsibly manage taxpayer money extends well beyond the state budget. I take this obligation seriously when managing my office expenses.

Representatives are given $700 a month in an expense account to purchase supplies and other necessities for their Capitol offices. As Fiscal Year 2013 comes to a close this week, I will return nearly $4,000 from my expense account to Missouri’s General Revenue fund where it will be used to serve the people. Elected officials must strive to be good stewards of the people’s money by working as frugally and efficiently as possible.

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