The National Association for the Advancement of Orthotics and Prosthetics (NAAOP) released a webcast with an O&P action alert regarding building support for O&P legislation. A summary of the webcast by NAAOP General Counsel Peter W. Thomas, JD, follows:
In the wake of the O&P Policy Forum in Washington DC, organized by the American Orthotic & Prosthetic Association (AOPA), we ask all NAAOP members and friends to write to their members of Congress and/or Senators to seek cosponsors for two pieces of O&P legislation. Both bills have been introduced in previous Congresses but remain priorities for the O&P profession. We need to build cosponsors of these bills to get them moving through Congress. Here’s how you can help.
- Go to the NAAOP website at www.naaop.org and click on the Congressional Action Center link. This will take you to two template letters, one for each bill.
- Follow directions within the site to send electronic versions of a letter to your Representative on the first bill below and your two Senators and Representative on the second bill below. Modify the template letters as you prefer and send them electronically to Capitol Hill, asking the members of Congress to cosponsor these bills.
- Call the Capitol switchboard at 202.225.3121 and ask to be put through to the office of your member of Congress or Senator’s office. Ask to speak with the health legislative assistant and leave a message that you just sent an email about important legislation and hope your members of Congress will consider cosponsoring the bill(s).
- Injured and Amputee Veterans Bill of Rights (H.R. 2322): This legislation is spearheaded by NAAOP and was recently introduced by Congressman Tim Walberg (R-MI). The Injured and Amputee Veterans Bill of Rights seeks to educate veterans about their rights to help them become their own best advocate for their U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) prosthetic care. This bill requires the VA to post a list of rights in every O&P clinic across the country and on the VA website that includes the rights to obtain appropriate prosthetic technology, to access the practitioner of the veterans’ choice, and to obtain a second opinion if the veteran disagrees with the VA prescribed treatment plan. These rights are consistent with the Veterans Health Administration Handbook and Congressional testimony presented by VA officials in recent years and should not cost the VA more than it currently spends on O&P services.
- Medicare Orthotics & Prosthetics Improvement Act (S. 1191 and H.R. 2599): The Medicare O&P Improvement Act includes important legislative proposals that would:
o Recognize that the prosthetist’s/orthotist’s notes are considered part of the medical record
o Separates durable medical equipment from O&P in federal regulations
o Directs the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to fully implement Medicare law requiring O&P qualifications to be reimbursed by the program for custom O&P care
o Clarifies off-the-shelf orthotics to restore Congressional intent
o Mandates that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services refines its data on O&P audits and appeals to better track reversal rates and other important information throughout the appeals process
