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Occupational therapy news
AOTA Puts Policy Veteran Neil Harvison in Interim CEO RoleAOTA has appointed longtime policy and education executive Neil Harvison as interim CEO, giving the association continuity while leaving members with a short list of governance questions.
NIH Trial Will Test Sensory-Enriched OT for Children With FASDA new phased NIH study led by a University of Florida OT researcher will test a sensory-enriched intervention for children ages 6 to 8 with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders.
CMS Proposal Gives OT Practices a Mixed 2027 Payment PictureCMS's 2027 Physician Fee Schedule proposal pairs lower conversion factors with projected RVU gains for therapy, a $2,540 OT KX threshold, tighter remote-monitoring rules, and a September 14 comment deadline.
North Carolina Medicaid Opens More OT Care to TelehealthNorth Carolina Medicaid's July 2026 outpatient therapy policy identifies OT evaluation and treatment codes eligible for telehealth, protects access to in-person care, and removes an old same-day school-services restriction.
What OT Students Should Know About the New Federal Loan-Limit ReprieveOccupational therapy programs were added to ED's interim professional-degree list for federal loan limits, giving MSOT and OTD students short-term relief while litigation and school-level decisions keep the financing picture unsettled.
AOTA Flags the Medicare Math Behind OT Part B PaymentAOTA's July 2026 Medicare Part B analysis points OT practices toward technical payment issues in the Physician Fee Schedule: indirect practice expense, old utilization crosswalks, and caregiver training billing limits.
CMS Outpatient Rule Gives Hospital OT Teams a Comment WindowCMS's CY 2027 OPPS and ASC proposal leaves OT fee-schedule rates to a separate Medicare process while still affecting hospital outpatient departments through payment pressure, price transparency, quality reporting, mental health programs, and prior authorization.CMS Sets August 31 Home Health Comment DeadlineCMS's CY 2027 proposal pairs a projected 2.4% aggregate payment increase with another 3.0% temporary PDGM reduction and seeks input on palliative care, quality reporting, and equipment rules.
AJOT's New Platform Gives OT Readers a Short Window to Catch UpAOTA has moved AJOT to Sage Journals and says the journal's content is temporarily open through August 31, 2026, creating a practical research catch-up window for OT clinicians, students, and faculty.The New Student Loan Repayment Rules Give OT Borrowers a July Homework AssignmentFederal repayment changes that began July 1, 2026, make repayment-plan review urgent for OT students, new graduates, and clinicians carrying federal student debt.
IDEA Oversight Shift Puts School-Based OT on AlertThe Education Department's new partnerships with HHS and DOJ leave IDEA duties formally in place, while raising practical questions for school-based OT teams that depend on education-centered special-education oversight.
The New Federal Earnings Test Puts OT Program Value in the OpenThe Department of Education's final STATS and Earnings Accountability rule gives OT applicants a new reason to read program cost, completion, NBCOT, and salary outcomes together before choosing a school.
The DOJ Olmstead Memo Puts Community-Based OT Back on WatchA new DOJ Office of Legal Counsel memo leaves Olmstead in place while signaling a federal enforcement shift that occupational therapy teams should watch closely wherever community-based services depend on Medicaid, state systems, and disability-rights protections.
Aetna's OT Signature Change Is a Small Rule With a Larger MessageAetna removed its physician-signature requirement for occupational therapy plans of care, giving clinics and patients a practical example of how payer policy can respect OT scope while still demanding strong documentation.
The OT Compact Is Becoming a Working Tool, Not Just a PromiseOT Compact privileges began moving from policy promise to operational reality in 2026, with early states opening applications and forcing a more practical conversation about mobility, telehealth, and access to care.
BLS Keeps Occupational Therapy on a Faster-Than-Average Growth TrackFederal labor projections keep OT demand on strong footing, but the useful story for applicants is where the openings, wages, settings, and debt math collide.
NBCOT School Performance Data Is Still the First Hard Question for OT ProgramsNBCOT school-performance tables remain one of the clearest public outcome checks for applicants comparing OT and OTA programs, especially when rankings and brochures blur the risk.
Aquatic OT Enters the Autism Water-Safety Conversation With New UrgencyA 2026 AJOT article on AquOTic gives pediatric OT readers a concrete study to bring into water-safety, participation, and family-goal conversations.
CMS Home Health Quality Data Gives OTs a Better Way to Screen AgenciesCMS home health quality reporting gives clinicians a stronger public starting point before interviewing a home health agency.Medicare Telehealth Is No Longer Novel for OT, but It Is Still Hard to ReadTelehealth remains a live policy issue for therapy teams, and OT practices need to separate patient access from billing, documentation, supervision, and state-law risk.ACOTE Status Language Is the Fine Print OT Applicants Cannot SkipACOTE standards, interpretive guidance, and program-status language matter because applicants are buying a path to eligibility, not just a school brand.