02/10/2025
UPDATE: The 8% rate cut has now been corrected to the originally communicated 3% cut to OT services. Next steps- lets get the 3% cut reversed! Thank you for your advocacy !!!
Dear families
We are reaching out to inform you about an unexpected change to payment for occupational therapy services through Medicaid. I ask that you please read this message in its entirety and consider helping however you can.
As you may have heard, North Carolina Medicaid recently published reductions to medical provider payments. Almost all medical provider types were impacted. Medicaid communicated about these reductions throughout the the summer and OT providers were informed that Medicaid would be reducing the rate that is paid for the services being provided for your child effective 10/1/25 by 3%.
Today we found out by surprise that Medicaid had reduced the amount of payment for occupational therapy services by nearly triple that amount, 8% instead of the 3% that had been communicated. These changes were both released 10/1/25 and took affect 10/1/25.
The therapists on our team care deeply about the services that your family receives. They have dedicated their lives and their careers to learning how to provide the very best support for children so that they can be independent, happy, healthy, and participate in all the important routines within their lives.
Our company was founded with the vision to ensure that the way the occupational therapy services are delivered always puts the best interest of your child at the front of our focus. If I have met you personally, as I have many of our families, then you know that I chose to join the occupational therapy profession because of my children’s experiences benefiting from OT. The ability to serve our community by bringing much needed OT services to children and families like yours is a deeply personal vocation for me.
For nearly 2 decades, occupational therapy providers have not received an increase from North Carolina Medicaid for the critical services that we provide. During this time, entry level for supervision of occupational therapy services has advanced to a masters level degree, and the administrative burden of managing communication with and meeting documentation requirements for the many varieties of North Carolina Medicaid has expanded tremendously. With the current 8% rate cut to OT services, the therapists that serve your child and other similar therapists will now be paid less than they were in 1990 by North Carolina Medicaid.
Our team desperately wants to continue to serve your family, and maintain our high values of quality to help your family make meaningful changes in your child’s skills and abilities. We know that your family depends on our services, and we are fighting to help North Carolina Medicaid understand the value of occupational therapy. At this time, we are asking everyone to do what they can in bringing awareness to this critical injustice that is likely to impact availability of much-needed occupational therapy services for children and families who depend on it.
The best way that you can help is to tell your OT story. If you feel comfortable, please strongly consider reaching out to your senate and house representatives, North Carolina DHHS, and any other methods of publicizing the threat that this poses to the services that your children need. News and media outlets may also wish to hear your story to better understand why OT is so important and how it is being threatened.
You can contact your representatives by doing a search using your address at
https://www.ncleg.gov/findyourlegislators
You can send an email or call directly to North Carolina Medicaid at
NC Medicaid Ombudsman: 877-201-3750
Email: ombudsman@ncdoj.gov
If you would like for our team to provide assistance in helping you prepare a letter, we would be happy to help.
Please call and email your representatives and NC Medicaid in the next 24 hours
tell them who you are and where you live
tell them what OT is
tell them about your child and why OT is needed for them
inform them that OT has not received an increase in nearly 20 years
Inform them that OT was told they would be getting a rate cut of 3%, instead received an 8% cut unexpectedly today
ask for immediate action to correct the error in rate cuts to OT
ask if you can provide any additional information that will help them advocate for OT
thank them
While we are also reaching out urgently to legislators and North Carolina Medicaid, please be assured that we will never share any private health information about your family or your child.
To protect access to occupational therapy for children in North Carolina, it is critical that as many people as possible raise their voices this week. I appreciate your consideration of this urgent request.
With much love, and in hopes to continue to serve your child and family and families like yours for many years to come,
Debb Dorsett, MOT, OTR/L, CEIM
Occupational Therapist
Owner, Circle Therapy
All residents of North Carolina are represented in the United States Senate by both Senators Ted Budd and Thom Tillis. Representation in the NC House, the NC Senate, and the US House is determined by district. Each resident of the state has one representative in each of those legislative bodies, det...
