Physical therapists appeal ruling upholding Medicare’s ban on private-pay care

Atlanta, Georgia; September 9, 2026: After a federal court ruling upheld Medicare’s ban on private-pay physical therapy, a Florida physical therapist and a national association representing physical therapists filed an appeal challenging the decision yesterday. Dr. Sean Wells and the United Physical Therapy Association (UPTA) ask the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit to revive their case, arguing that the government has yet to demonstrate a valid reason for treating physical therapists differently from other healthcare professionals.

“Congress let nearly every other kind of healthcare provider contract privately with Medicare patients,” said Joshua Polk, an attorney with Pacific Legal Foundation. “Physical therapists can be the difference between a senior staying independent in their own home and ending up back in the hospital, yet Medicare denies them an option available to the vast majority of healthcare providers. The Constitution doesn’t allow such an unjustified difference in treatment.”

Dr. Wells has practiced physical therapy in Northern Florida for more than a decade, bringing mobile therapy directly to elderly and disabled patients who struggle to travel to a clinic. Because federal law excludes physical therapists from the opt-out provision available to nearly every other licensed provider, Dr. Wells must turn away Medicare patients who want to pay him directly, even when they urgently need his care. In their lawsuit, Dr. Wells and UPTA argue the exclusion violates their rights to equal treatment and due process under the Fifth Amendment.

A win would restore physical therapists’ ability to serve Medicare patients on the same terms as other providers, giving disabled individuals and senior citizens greater freedom to choose the caregivers who best fit their needs.

Pacific Legal Foundation represents Dr. Wells and UPTA free of charge. The case is Wells v. Kennedy.