Since the advent of requiring documentation to justify socket replacements, sock ply has been used as the gold standard for demonstrating volumetric change. However, as the field of prosthetics has advanced, it has developed far better ways of demonstrating volumetric or anatomical changes that would justify socket changes. Unfortunately, some insurance companies haven’t caught up with these advances, and still bow down before the altar of sock ply before replacing poorly fitting sockets.
How many of us have had patients who desperately need new sockets only to find out they don’t qualify due to insufficient sock ply? There are some insurance company decision-makers who demand that patients wear a whopping 20 ply of socks before they will be approved for replacement. I’d love to see them wear a shoe that is five sizes too big and get told to wear 20 pairs of socks to make it fit.
