Among older adults, falls continue to be a leading cause of injury, with Medicare spending for non-fatal adult falls reaching $53.3 billion per year and growing. This is unacceptable – especially since many falls can be prevented through risk assessment and physical therapy.

APTQI is asking Congress to act on a commonsense solution to help millions of older Americans avoid falls and injuries, related emergency room visits or hospital stays, and unnecessary opioid-based drug use for pain: improved access to falls risk assessments by a physical therapist. 

Physical therapists are certified falls prevention experts who are trained to understand how to best assess risk and prevent patients from falling; however, many older Americans cannot access preventative care like physical therapy under their Medicare benefit. 

That’s why Congress must pass The Stopping Addiction and Falls for the Elderly (SAFE) Act (S. 2612/H.R. 1171) to allow falls experts—physical and occupational therapists—to complete a fall risk assessment on patients as part of their annual Medicare wellness visit and initial preventive physical exam at no cost to the patient, helping to reduce costly and dangerous falls among older Americans. 

Please send a letter to your representative and senators in Congress today. Ask them to cosponsor the SAFE Act to enhance access to falls prevention, reduce healthcare costs, and improve patient outcomes for our older friends and family members. 

*If your Member of Congress is already a cosponsor of the SAFE Act, they will not receive a letter.