The American Orthotic and Prosthetic Association (AOPA) created a link for O&P stakeholders to automatically contact their legislators about potential cuts to Medicaid benefits and the effects on O&P patients.
After the sender enters his or her name and zip code, the link establishes the correct legislators in the House of Representatives and the Senate to receive the email. The email can be edited before sending; the standard version reads as follows:
My name is [first and last name], a constituent of yours living in [city]. I write to you today to request your support in protecting Medicaid funding.
As of October 2024, 72.1 million Americans, more than 20% of the U.S. population, are enrolled in Medicaid.1
Access to Medicaid benefits has been shown to improve health outcomes, as well as economic outcomes for eligible Americans. Medicaid access is especially important for individuals that rely on prostheses and/or orthoses to perform activities of daily living and to participate in therapeutic recreational activities. Given that Medicaid programs are crucial to disabled and financially challenged children and adults, funding reductions to these programs will be devastating to this population. Additionally, Medicaid provides financial protection to patients and healthcare providers. Finally, “the Congressional Budget Office estimates that long-term fiscal effects (higher income and tax revenues) of Medicaid spending on children can offset half or more of the initial Medicaid spending.”2
For these reasons, it is of great importance to protect Medicaid and its recipients. I urge you to vote in favor of preventing Medicaid cuts. Thank you for your support.
Sources
- https://www.medicaid.gov/resources-for-states/downloads/eligib-oper-and-enrol-snap-october2024.pdf
- https://aspe.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/documents/effbde36dd9852a49d10e66e4a4ee333/medicaid-health-economic-benefits.pdf
To use the AOPA link, visit https://p2a.co/UN3bQus.
