Medicare Patient Choice Act

HR 4204, the Medicare Patient Choice Act, expands Medicare beneficiaries' ability to directly choose certain healthcare providers without requiring a physician referral. It updates Medicare rules to explicitly include physical therapists, occupational therapists, speech-language pathologists, and qualified audiologists as covered providers, replacing previous references to "physician or practitioner" throughout the law. This change allows beneficiaries to access these specific therapy services directly from qualified providers, removing prior barriers that often required a doctor's referral. The bill directly affects Medicare beneficiaries seeking these therapy services and the qualified professionals providing them. The key mechanism is amending the Social Security Act to expand the definition of covered providers within Medicare's existing framework.