Gabe Freyaldenhoven is the owner of River Valley Therapy and Sports Medicine, a series of outpatient therapy clinics in northcentral Arkansas where the focus is delivering phenomenal patient care with a focus on customer service. For the last 10 years, he has served as the President of Rehab Net of Arkansas, a collaboration of 200 different clinics and 2100 providers. Gabe currently serves on the PPS Payment and Policy Committee and is chairman of the Utilization Management subcommittee.

Candidate Statement

As a physical therapist and private practice owner for over 20 years, I love having the opportunity to impact the lives of so many people in our communities, as well as work with other amazing leaders to shepherd our profession. I am a passionate advocate for physical therapy, as the interventions we provide truly improve the health of our families, friends and neighbors. In addition to serving the communities where our clinics are located, I also enjoy working with payers and regulators to ensure that patients have access to the care that they deserve.

For the last 19 years, I have served on the board of Rehab Net, a collaborative network of 200 different therapy clinics with 2100 providers. As President of this network for 10 years, I actively identify and support a seven-member board in leading our organization.  The strength of any organization is having the right team in place to accomplish the mission as well as ensuring each of them have the tools and resources to be successful. Over the last 10 years, Rehab Net’s growth from 30-member clinics to 200 clinics could only be accomplished by the collective value this leadership team has brought to the network. 

I also serve on the Board of Directors for CareSource, an Arkansas Managed Medicaid insurance company and am currently the pay chair for APTA - Arkansas.This work, in addition to my role identifying members for and leading several provider advisory committees with insurance payers has resulted in being twice awarded the APTA-Arkansas Distinguished Service Award as well as the APTA-Arkansas Greg Wren Legislative Award. Teaching at various universities on topics such as payment, coding, and leadership development has been another role I have enjoyed, and my desire to pour in to others is evidenced by being selected for the APTA-Arkansas Outstanding Clinical Instructor award.

Currently, I am serving on the PPS Payment and Policy Committee, where I chair the UM Subcommittee.  As a part of this subcommittee, PPS members from around the country recently worked together to review the states with Gold Card and Prior Authorization laws and provided resources to APTA Pay Chairs pursuing this legislation in their state. Additionally, I recently participated in the workgroup to develop, plan, and recruit speakers for the “Contracting for Smart PT’s” series, created by SPARC. In order to provide meaningful change in the therapy payment landscape, I believe we must provide the tools, education, and resources for members to be successful, and then share the lessons learned across our section.

Payer success is typically driven by persistence and getting the right people and data in the room to bring about meaningful change. During the last two years, I have been honored to present at the State Payment Advocacy Forum as well as the Graham Sessions on commercial payer payment strategies to increase reimbursement and decrease provider burden. Additionally, I represent PPS on the Payment Consortium, a joint initiative of PPS and AOPT. Our aim is to reduce administrative burden for physical therapists, empower contract negotiations, and advocate for improved payment rates. I believe it is paramount to learn the unique skills of those around us and connect them with others that need those skills. As a part of this consortium, we have been able to connect members and develop resources that resulted in meaningful improvement in payment rates over the last several years.

I believe our profession is at an inflection point, where we not only must evaluate how we do things, but also push back on the market forces that suppress our ability to care for the communities we serve. Payment for our services is at a critical point, and we must encourage and equip our members to create meaningful change. My journey to this point has allowed me to work together with some incredible leaders. If elected, I will work diligently with my fellow committee members to identify candidates with the skills, experience, and drive to tackle the complexities of enhancing payment as well as the other headwinds facing our industry. Ensuring that our section’s leadership remains strong, willing to evaluate new ideas, and seeking actionable solutions is vital to allow us to continue to take care of our friends and neighbors.