Medicare expands fall-prevention care for seniors, adding PT and OT services

What it does

This bill expands Medicare's annual wellness visit and initial preventive physical exam to include falls risk assessments and fall prevention services delivered by physical therapists and occupational therapists for seniors who have fallen in the prior year. It takes effect January 1, 2026, and requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to report annually to Congress on fall-related injuries and treatment in seniors aged 65+.

Why we flagged it

The bill's core mechanism is straightforward: it adds physical and occupational therapy services to two existing Medicare preventive benefit categories for fall-risk patients. This is a routine expansion of covered services, not a tax provision, deregulation, or narrow carve-out.

What the text implies

• The bill does not specify copay or coinsurance amounts for the new PT/OT services; Medicare's standard cost-sharing rules will apply, meaning some seniors may face out-of-pocket costs despite the preventive framing.
• No funding mechanism is specified; the bill assumes existing Medicare trust fund capacity to absorb the cost of additional PT/OT visits, which may require future appropriations or benefit adjustments.
• The falls-risk assessment requirement is triggered only by physician determination of a prior-year fall, potentially excluding seniors at high risk who have not yet fallen and may lack documented falls history.

Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.

Who it affects

Seniors who have fallen gain access to specialized fall-prevention assessment and services at no additional cost under Medicare, reducing injury risk and hospitalizations. The bill expands preventive care without restricting existing benefits or creating new barriers to coverage.

Who stands to gain

• physical therapy providers
• occupational therapy providers
• Medicare Advantage insurers (if they capture utilization savings)

Named in the bill

Medicare, Social Security Act Section 1861, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Secretary of Health and Human Services, physical therapists, occupational therapists

Where it stands

54 cosponsors: 38 Democrats, 16 Republicans.

• Feb 10, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
• Feb 10, 2025 — Referred to House Committee on Ways and Means and House Committee on Energy and Commerce · Congress.gov: “Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on Ways and Means, for a…”

Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.

Money around this bill

4 lobbying clients named this bill on 7 disclosure filings across 2 quarters, Dec 2025 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $648,000 in lobbying spend. A filing names 8 bills on average, so that figure is what each filing reported, not a share belonging to this bill.

More lobbying clients named this bill than 72% of bills with at least one filing.

Carol Miller, the sponsor, reported $1,295,500 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.

• The American Occupational Therapy Association, Inc. (aota) — $378,000 on 2 filings
• Alliance for Physical Therapy Quality and Innovation — $160,000 on 2 filings
• Alliance for Physical Therapy Quality and Innovation — $70,000 on 1 filing
• Apta Private Practice — $40,000 on 2 filings

Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jul 19, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.