Representative Nikema Williams (D-GA) led nine congressional colleagues in a letter to Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., urging the department to address significant gaps in insurance coverage for pelvic floor physical therapy (PFPT).
What is this therapy for? PFPT is for individuals with endometriosis, chronic pelvic pain, and related pelvic floor dysfunction.
Endometriosis affects an estimated 8.3 million women in the United States and is a leading cause of chronic pelvic pain, infertility, and disability among reproductive-aged women.
Chronic pelvic pain affects an estimated 15–26% of U.S. women and is associated with substantial health care utilization, reduced workforce participation, and diminished quality of life.
What Rep. Nikema Williams and her colleagues had to say:
- “We write on behalf of patients, clinicians, researchers, and women’s health organizations to urge the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), including the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), to address significant gaps in insurance coverage for pelvic floor physical therapy (PFPT) for individuals with endometriosis, chronic pelvic pain, and related pelvic floor dysfunction.
- “Specifically, we ask HHS to examine whether there is coverage parity for endometriosis-related pelvic floor physical therapy with requirements for postpartum pelvic floor physical therapy, and to clarify for public and private insurers that there should be parity in coverage for pelvic floor rehabilitation whether a patient is postpartum or impacted by endometriosis."
Who co-signed this letter? The letter was co-signed by Representatives Yvette Clarke (D-NY), Jasmine Crockett (D-TX), Debbie Dingell (D-MI), Maxwell Frost (D-FL), Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL), Kelly Morrison (D-MN), Brittany Pettersen (D-CO), Lateefah Simon (D-CA), and Melanie Stansbury (D-NM).
Further Context: Despite its prevalence, endometriosis is associated with an average diagnostic delay of approximately 7–10 years.
During this period, many patients experience repeated health care visits, multiple diagnostic evaluations, escalating pain, worsening functional impairment, and delayed access to effective treatment.
Improving access to evidence-based and rehabilitative treatments, including pelvic floor physical therapy, may help reduce this downstream burden while improving function and quality of life.
