Welcome to Mastering
OT Policy & Medicare

Being a strong OT starts with…

Knowing the rules to make positive change.

For OT practitioners in adult rehab who are ready to bust through the myths and hearsay to finally understand the reimbursement and policy forces that influence clinical work in the United States.

*Note: Mastering OT Policy and Medicare is now part of the Amplify OT Membership and is no longer sold as a separate course. It is possible some information on this page may be slightly out of date*

Do productivity talks, Medicare lingo, and reimbursement rules make you want to
give up on the profession?

Sure, you could keep wrestling with the info provided by your company — looking for documentation short-cuts and posting questions in Facebook groups. All the while hoping 🤞 you’re doing things right.

Or you could…

Carve out a bit of time to learn. And in return, you —

🌟UNDERSTAND POLICY BASICS.

🌟KNOW WHERE TO FIND CORRECT ANSWERS.

🌟SUCCESSFULLY ADVOCATE FOR YOURSELF AND YOUR PATIENTS.

Whether you’re entering the field of OT or a therapist with some experience, you’ve probably had times where you felt insecure with the practical realities of the healthcare system.

I’m talking about those situations that leave you feeling less competent or less respected.

Like —

Stumbling through how to respond when patients ask, “Will Medicare cover this?”
Feeling unheard when trying to explain the value of what you’re doing with patients to your manager, case manager, or referring physician.
Sinking hours into looking for information in the wrong place or wading through unfamiliar policy jargon.
Being told to adjust your plan of care because “that’s not covered.”

All of this is because you’re fuzzy on the nuanced (and constantly changing) policy and systems behind the business of therapy.

Time for you to trade “not-knowing” 🤔 for informed-and-empowered 🙌.

We’re talking about wins like ethically increasing your productivity, successful discussions with management, and sleeping at night knowing you’ve helped patients get what they need.

Maybe You’re Thinking

“Policy isn’t really my thing. It feels too big to understand.”

No worries, therapy friend. Advocacy is about learning some basics and industry lingo, so you’re on a level-playing field to talk with decision-makers. It’s not expecting you to be the hero who fixes Medicare (unless you want to).

Imagine showing up to your manager’s office – Medicare policy in hand – and being seen as the expert rather than the nuisance with questions.

And with the way healthcare is always changing, it’s even more important to know where to look and how to understand changes as they happen. To make it easier to stay up-to-date, I’m here to point you straight to the info and resources that directly impact your job as an occupational therapy practitioner.

Or You Might Even Be Thinking

“Policy is so boring and heavy. I’d rather spend my time learning new interventions to get patients great clinical outcomes.”

Oh man, I get it. You went to school to be a clinician, so you’re totally drawn to evaluation tricks and shiny-new intervention ideas.

But hear me out.

Without some form of payment, there’s no therapy for your patient.

Like it or not, what you do clinically is tied to reimbursement.

The boxes you filled in on the evaluation (think CPT codes, etc.) are directly related to policy and payment. Know what they mean so you can fill them in correctly.
Many therapy practitioners under-bill simply because they don’t know what is covered. Naturally, this contributes to the undervaluation of the profession and triggers those cringy “productivity emails” from your boss.
Understanding reimbursement is how you partner with your patient to create action plans for treatment, equipment, and discharge plans that are actually USEFUL. In fact, social-economic status and finances are part of a complete occupational profile and areas key components of patient-centered care.

There’s a reason the code of ethics includes an entire section on legal documentation and billing.

The Truth Is

Understanding Reimbursement And Policy Is Just As Important As Your Clinician Skills.

Yet, you don’t know what you haven’t been taught.

Reflect on this:

Change needs to happen. Your decisions need to be based on facts.

At the end of the day, each clinician is legally and ethically responsible for knowing how the system works.

You, my friend, need to become your own best resource!

“Policy is not my thing, but obviously very important as a business owner! You deliver it in a way that I’ve found to be so easy to learn and enjoy learning it.”

Jennifer Huff MHS, OTR/L

CEO of Your Aging Therapist

Imagine what it will be like to:

Sleep easy at night, knowing you’re providing ethical and legal care.
Know the rules, so you legally bill for ALL the skilled services you’re providing (goodbye productivity monkey).
Stand up for what your patients need with Medicare rules to back you up – rather than be the reason for denial.
Know the rules of the system, so you make recommendations that get approved.
Streamline your documentation by knowing what’s important.

That’s right! It all stems from understanding the policy and reimbursement gears that run the healthcare machine.

Understand the rules, and you’re ready to rock your role as a champion OT. Not just for you but for those around you. Creating wins for your patients, your company, and your coworkers.

You need a guide, so you don’t get lost in the policy weeds. That’s where I come in. As a fellow OT, I thrive in translating all that policy mumbo-jumbo into the clinical takeaways. So you have the useful nuggets for your hands-on work as a clinician.

And I know – policy and compliance work get a bad rap for being stuffy, scary, and judg-y. None of which gel with my style.

So grab a cup of coffee ☕️ for my light and casualcausal approach to policy.

Introducing 🥁🥁🥁

Mastering OT Policy And Medicare

A 5 module self-paced course focused on demystifying policy and reimbursement for occupational therapy practitioners working in adult rehabilitation.

Get ready to serve your patients with all the pieces of knowledge it takes to provide quality care within a complex healthcare system.

How This Works

MASTERING OT POLICY AND MEDICARE simplifies the big, scary medicare monster.

It paves the path from “not-knowing” to system change-maker.

Here’s how you’ll do it!

Learn the Essentials — Get ready to finally understand the lingo and processes behind the scenes of healthcare.

Find Answers — In a constantly changing healthcare system, you need to be able to keep up with changes. You’ll learn how to get straight to source information to find answers for yourself and translate policy speak into answers for your everyday life as a clinician.

Be Primed for Advocacy & Action —Policy basics under you’re belt, you’re ready to advocate for yourself, your profession, and your patients. This part of the course teaches you how to communicate to change the system from within – starting with your own work environment.

PLUS…
Access to Online Community — where you can comment, ask questions, and share ideas.
Support — via office hours, exclusive Q&A’s, and email.
Continuing Education — Nab 5.5 CEU hours when you complete the entire course.

All right, time to break this down a little more for those that like details.

Module 1: Health Insurance 101

From the basics of what’s a co-pay to the types of Medicare, you’ll get the vocabulary and perspective you need to feel like a rockstar. You’ll leave understanding the terms, players, and reimbursement types, including a deep dive into what Medicare is (and isn’t).

Module 2: Adult Rehab Settings

Get ready to understand the specifics of the regulations for adult practice settings, including Acute Care, LTCH, Inpatient rehab, SNF, Home Health, Outpatient, and Hospice. You’ll not only get policy insights into your setting – you’ll also understand how all the settings fit together. Don’t forget that reimbursement travels with patients. That means you help your patients best by understanding where they came from and where they’re going.

Module 3: Billing

The details you wish you were taught. Get ready to make your billing both compliant and more effective. After all, effective billing means your employer gets paid so you get paid.

Module 4: Finding Information

Know how to quickly find and understand policy documents, so you’re never stuck with out-of-date information.

Module 5: Advocacy In Today's World

Equipping you to take flight with your new knowledge through advocacy. Now that you understand the lingo and the systems, be a change-maker within your own department and state.

This course includes:

Pull your head out of the sand and learn what you need to know.

Join the Amplify OT Membership to access Mastering OT Policy and Medicare and be equipped with the practical realities of policy and reimbursement of healthcare in 5 clinician-friendly modules.

“It’s hard to stay on top of all the information and get a handle on how billing works for a variety of OT settings.”

“I signed up for this course to get a handle on how billing worked in a variety of OT settings. I learned that in this course and more. The course had weekly videos that were very informative. There were handouts that went along with the videos which is something tangible to have for the future!”

Sandy Sanford, MS, COTA/L

OTA professor at Ozark University

REST EASY, THERE’S A GUARANTEE

You’ve got this! And I know this course will change the confidence you bring to your work. Even so, sometimes you need to see it to believe it.

That’s why I offer a 14-day guarantee as part of the Amplify OT Membership!

Oh, hi👋! I’m Clarice Grote,

The OT behind the push to bring policy and advocacy to life in the everyday work of clinicians.

An occupational therapist, healthcare policy enthusiast, and OT advocate. I founded Amplify OT to help you navigate and thrive in the traditional medical model.

You can create positive change in the traditional medical model. All it takes is a little know-how and learning to speak the same language as those making the policy.

As a new practitioner, I definitely didn’t understand how the systems all worked. And I paid the price. I struggled to advocate for my clinical judgment and my patients. As a result, I lost sleep, money for my company, and potential pay increases for me. Plus – my patients didn’t get the care they deserved.

So I decided to roll up my sleeves and learn what I needed to know to do my job properly. Hello, weekends spent reading Medicare rules and thumbing through state and national healthcare policy.

As my knowledge grew, so did my commitment to advocacy on behalf of the profession. My ability to speak the language of policy made me a better clinician and ultimately opened new doors. I lead the initiative to get the licensure compact passed in Missouri and collaborated with AOTA on national policy and advocacy.

If I was able to do all this without a law degree or a million years of experience, you can too! 💪

And I’m here with Mastering OT Policy and Medicare to give you the shortest path to the answers you need as a practicing clinician in today’s complex healthcare system.

I’m a firm believer that by understanding policy, we can better help our patients, advance the profession, and be the change we want to see in the healthcare system.

Weighing Mastering OT Policy Against Your Other Options

OTHER OPTIONS

Biased information from stakeholders who are coming at reimbursement strongly from the “making a profit” angle.
Inaccurate summaries – as policy information gets passed through multiple people, important pieces of information get lost or changed.
A vortex of confusion is created by searching endlessly for answers only to find long documents full of jargon that takes even more time to try and understand.
Mind-numbingly boring in-services that drone on with no practical relevance.

MASTERING OT POLICY

Practical Knowledge provided by a clinician specifically for the needs of a clinician.
Don’t just take my word for it – I always include links back to original policy documents. So you tell your boss, “Here the medicare policy says…” versus “This random girl Clarice told me…”
Learning simplified using modules that are short, casual, and break down big concepts into everyday language.
Good vibes because if there are topics that need more feel-good energy, it’s compliance, reimbursement, and documentation.

Hold Up!

You might be wondering if this really is for you…

You’re an OT or an OTA working in an adult rehab setting such as home health, acute care, inpatient rehab, SNF, or long-term rehab.
You’re looking to understand the US health care system, including Medicare.
You’re committed to staying current in an ever-evolving healthcare system.
You wish you were taught more in school about the connection between documentation and reimbursement & billing.
You’re a student, a new grad, or entering a new clinical setting.

Oops, sorry to break up so soon; we’re not a good fit if:

You work outside the United States.
You already know all the ins and outs of billing.
You work in pediatrics.
You’ve got years of experience and already understand how everything works.
You’re a private practice owner looking into how to sign up for Medicare or start your practice.
You’re not willing to do a little digging into policy yourself, so you’re happy to wing it with what you’re given.

What other occupational therapy practitioners are saying…

“Clarice is incredibly knowledgeable about reimbursement for OT services and stays current with any changes that occur. Her course is a valuable addition to omy current curriculum.”

Michelle Jackson

Professor of Occupational Therapy
Cox College - Springfield, MO

“I love that [Clarice] is straight to the point and an advocate for quality care and for practitioners to take responsibility of understanding payment systems.”

Taylor H

OT Student

“Clarice is one of the most inspiring and forward-thinking OTs I've ever known. She has such a passion for moving the profession forward, and she harnesses it through producing exceptional content. I always know whatever Clarice creates will be interesting and professionally relevant.”

Meredith C. PT

The Non-Clinical PT

Time For A Little Q&A!

Coming at you with some FAQ’s.

Can OTAs take this course?

Absolutely! If you’re an OTA, your job definitely requires you to understand billing, healthcare systems, and advocacy, so this all applies to you. Plus, if you hope to someday move into a leadership role, this information will become even more important!

How do I use this course to get CEUs for my state license and NBCOT certification?

Once you complete all the modules of the course, you’ll get a certificate of completion. Most state licensure boards and NBCOT accept CEUs related to the profession. While I’m not an official AOTA-approved provider, these CEU’s are generally accepted by NBCOT and most state professional licensing boards. However, I can’t guarantee CEUs will be accepted and I encourage people to go back to the source and review the policies of your specific state.

How long do I have access to course materials?

Mastering OT Policy and Medicare is now part of the Amplify OT Membership. You maintain access to the course for as long as you’re a member!

Do you offer payment plans?

To accommodate more budgets, we launched the Amplify OT Membership where you have the ability to pay monthly or annualy for access to this course and all other Amplify OT webinars!

If this information is needed by everyone, why isn’t it free?

Glad you asked. Yes, I agree, it’s sometimes hard to see the information you need kept behind a paywall. However, putting all these resources together takes a ton of time. And I can’t pay my bills with acts of service.

That being said, I’ve priced this course to be affordable for clinicians and provided an option to pay over time. If you’re not at a place to purchase, check out the scholarship option or head over to my podcast and blog to get started with some free resources.

I’m an occupational therapy educator. Will this course still benefit me?

Absolutely! You’re in a prime spot to pass on these valuable details to the next generation of OT practitioners. Get up to speed on the latest reimbursement and policy knowledge with this course.

This program is also perfect to support your policy or management course! We have options where students can sign up independently or programs can invest in this series for their students. For details on how this series can fit with your program, visit this page.

Why only some adult practice settings?

This course focuses the most time on Medicare and other portions of policy related to adult rehab settings. It’s NOT an advanced billing course for those working in pediatrics or outpatient rehab. While this course provides some basics, those settings have their own policies and reimbursement models beyond the scope of this course.

If you work in one of these settings, the course is still great for understanding advocacy and the continuum of care so reach out to me directly at Cgrote@amplifyot.com with questions about whether this course fits your needs.

I work full-time, so I’m not sure I have the time for this course?

I understand how busy life gets as a full-time clinician, which is why I designed the course to fit your schedule.

Videos are on-demand and are around 15 minutes on average. Perfect for watching during your morning routine, over lunch, or while wearing an aloe face mask with a glass of wine after one of those days.

Will I understand the course? Will I fall asleep?

This is actually the beauty of taking a course created by a fellow OT (not a stuffy compliance nerd).

It’s time for us all to say goodbye to dull presentations that drone on forever and poor-quality recordings from a weekend conference where you can’t even hear the questions.

That’s why I consciously created a course about what really matters to occupational therapy practitioners and students! No more searching endlessly for answers only to find long documents full of jargon written for another profession that takes even more time to understand.

What if I’m looking for additional support?

Good news! The Amplify OT Membership (which is where Mastering OT Policy and Medicare moved to) involves office hours, the ability to direct message Clarice questions, plus community forums and activity feeds. So, there is a lot of additional support in the Amplify OT Membership.

Check it out here!

My company seems to be pushing us to do some shady stuff. Will this course help me change that?

I’m so sorry you’re in the middle of that. Truth is, some companies just aren’t that great. This course will teach you about how things should be run in terms of Medicare and reimbursement. Plus some basic advocacy tools. Although your company may not change its way, you now hold the knowledge to identify ethical companies and protect your license.

ONE LAST THING

There’s power in what you do as an OT. Gather the knowledge you need to do it.

When you’re frustrated by the whole system, no massage or self-care course is going to magically eliminate your burnout.

The answer is changing the system from within.

Being a change-maker who understands what’s going on and speaks the lingo to create solutions that work for you, your patients, and your employer.

Mastering OT Policy and Medicare makes understanding the healthcare systems of adult rehab easy and practical from beginning to end.

Welcome to MasteringOT Policy & Medicare