The ACA and its partners continue to make progress on the state and national levels. With the ongoing focus on healthcare reform in Congress, the Amputee Coalition of America (ACA) and our partners are working to ensure that prosthetic and orthotic language is included in the healthcare legislation being worked on in Congress. This language would provide protection for assistive devices, including prosthetic and orthotic devices, and is essential to ensure that access to care is provided for the limb-loss community in future healthcare-reform legislation. We have successfully lobbied to have this important language included in the House bill and are continuing to work to get it included in the Senate bill. In addition to our work on the federal level, prosthetic parity has passed in Illinois in both the House and Senate and is on its way to the governor's desk for approval. Ohio's prosthetic-parity bill has been heard in committee, and we are now awaiting a committee vote. With the continued action of advocates across the country and after Arkansas, Iowa, Maryland, Missouri, Texas, and Virginia passed fair-insurance legislation for the limb-loss community, we have continued to build on our success. The ACA has worked with local individuals and groups and has held successful organizing meetings in several states this fall in advance of the 2010 legislative sessions, and we are continuing our work at both the state and federal level to ensure fair access to care for the limb-loss community. Dan Ignaszewski is a government-relations specialist for the Amputee Coalition of America. For more information, visit www.armsandlegsarenotaluxury.com
