Medicare expands temporary staffing for physical therapists to prevent care gaps.

What it does

This bill allows physical therapists to use locum tenens (temporary substitute) arrangements under Medicare, the same way physicians currently can. Locum tenens lets practices hire temporary providers to cover absences, ensuring continuity of care. Physical therapists and their patients benefit by reducing service interruptions; Medicare beneficiaries get uninterrupted access to physical therapy.

Why we flagged it

The bill extends an existing Medicare staffing arrangement (locum tenens) from physicians to physical therapists, creating regulatory parity. It is a narrow, technical amendment with no broader policy agenda.

What the text implies

• Locum tenens arrangements may increase billing volume if temporary providers are used to expand capacity rather than merely cover absences, potentially raising Medicare expenditures.
• Physical therapy practices may consolidate or grow faster if locum tenens reduces staffing constraints, affecting independent practitioner viability.
• The amendment does not specify credentialing, supervision, or quality-assurance standards for locum tenens physical therapists, leaving those details to existing Medicare rules.

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

Who it affects

Medicare beneficiaries gain continuity of physical therapy services through locum tenens coverage; physical therapists gain operational flexibility to maintain patient care during absences. No restrictions on patient access, rights, or protections are imposed.

Who stands to gain

• physical therapy practices and staffing agencies
• locum tenens staffing firms serving healthcare

Named in the bill

Medicare, Social Security Act, physical therapists, physicians, locum tenens arrangements, outpatient physical therapy services

Where it stands

11 cosponsors: 7 Republicans, 4 Democrats.

• Jul 9, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in Senate”
• Jul 9, 2025 — Referred to Senate Committee on Finance · Congress.gov: “Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance”

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

Money around this bill

3 lobbying clients named this bill on 5 disclosure filings across 2 quarters, Dec 2025 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $734,051 in lobbying spend. A filing names 9 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 61% of bills with at least one filing.

Ben Luján, the sponsor, reported $1,880,294 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.

• American Physical Therapy Association — $614,051 on 2 filings
• Alliance for Physical Therapy Quality and Innovation — $80,000 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.