Last week, Glen Waldner or someone from his company posted on this list a call for O&P practitioners to become more active on legislative and regulatory issues that impact the O&P community. The posting also asked that either AOPA or ABC try to coordinate such an effort. AOPA very much appreciates everyone’s interest in advancing the concerns of the industry through stepped up grassroots and other government relations activities. We are more than willing to work with everybody in the O&P community to advance the industry’s goals in Washington, D.C.
The following are just some of the important issues that AOPA is pursuing on behalf of its members:
Legislative Issues:
* Oppose competitive bidding for orthotic and prosthetic services;
* Maintain adequate Medicare reimbursement rates for O&P services;
* Remove orthotic services from the Medicare skilled nursing
facility prospective payment system;
* Reduce Medicare’s regulatory burden on O&P providers.
Regulatory Issues:
* HIPAA compliance and other HIPAA related issues;
* Resolve the L-5669 gel liner coding issue;
* Negotiated rulemaking to determine who is qualified
to provide O&P services;
* Coding and reimbursement issues;
* Streamline the regulatory process to:
* Reduce documentation demands on O&P practitioners;
* Marginalize the impact of Region C and other DMERC audits;
* Provide ways to determine Medicare eligibility;
* Create a framework for industry input on CMS coding and
reimbursement determinations;
* Improve payment of HCPCS 99 L-codes;
* Hold physicians responsible for adequate patient records
rather than shift the responsibility to O&P professionals.
We accomplish these and other industry goals through AOPA’s strong volunteer leadership, as well as general member and staff efforts. We believe that providing a unified voice to identify and resolve important industry issues is a team effort and requires the active participation of all individuals in the O&P community. Therefore, we would hope those who aren’t members consider joining AOPA. Call Eliska Poirier at (571) 431-0876, ext. 214 to find out about the many benefits to AOPA membership.
When it comes to AOPA membership – just do it – for yourself and your profession.
Sincerely,
Eliska L. Poirier
Membership and Marketing Manager
American Orthotic and Prosthetic Association
ph: (571) 431-0876 ext. 214
fax: (571) 431-0899
epoirier@aopanet.org
www.aopanet.org
