APTQI Urges Senate Special Committee on Aging to Help Advance the Stopping Addiction and Falls for the Elderly (SAFE) Act
Bipartisan falls prevention legislation would protect the wellbeing and independence of aging Americans while reducing Medicare spending
Washington, D.C. – The Alliance for Physical Therapy Quality and Innovation (APTQI) this week submitted a statement for the record to the Senate Special Committee on Aging following the hearing, “Preventing Falls, Preserving Independence: Technology, Community Programs, and Innovation in Senior Safety.” APTQI applauded Chairman Rick Scott and Ranking Member Kirsten Gillibrand for shining a light on falls as one of the most urgent health threats facing older Americans today.
According to estimates, falls cause approximately 12 million injuries among older Americans annually, resulting in 3 million emergency department visits and more than 800,000 hospitalizations for broken and fractured bones, head injuries, and other trauma. Falls also claim an estimated 32,000 lives annually, making them the single greatest cause of injury-related mortality in this population, according to the National Council on Aging.
APTQI urges the committee to help advance the Stopping Addiction and Falls for the Elderly (SAFE) Act (S. 2612), bipartisan legislation to meaningfully reduce falls, injuries, deaths, and healthcare costs among older Americans. The bill would authorize physicians to refer Medicare beneficiaries who have experienced a fall within the prior year and who are deemed to be at risk of another fall to a physical or occupational therapist for specialized risk assessment and prevention services. Based on published research documenting the clinical and fiscal effectiveness of falls risk assessment and prevention services, independent analysis projects the SAFE Act would save $162 million over ten years. Companion legislation has also been introduced in the House and is supported by APTQI.
Senator Jim Justice (R-WV), lead sponsor of S. 2612 and member of the Senate Special Committee on Aging, highlighted the SAFE Act at the hearing, stressing its potential in helping aging Americans from experiencing falls and reducing the $80 billion the U.S. spends on falls each year.
“With every passing year, millions of older Americans fall, hundreds of thousands are hospitalized, and tens of thousands die from injuries that evidence-based intervention could have prevented. The SAFE Act is the targeted, fiscally responsible, and broadly supported measure beneficiaries and taxpayers need,” the APTQI letter states.
The SAFE Act has the support of key stakeholders, including the AARP, the Center for Medicare Advocacy, Families USA, Gerontological Society of America, Justice in Aging, and the Medicare Rights Center.
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