In a webcast from the National Association for the Advancement of Orthotics and Prosthetics (NAAOP), Peter Thomas, JD, general counsel, and Kate Ketelhohn, the 2023 Breece Fellow, shared updates about the O&P legislative and regulatory agenda.
They discussed the following items:
- NAAOP continued to work on analyzing the impact of the proposed definition of orthotics that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced on June 30, comments for which are due at the end of August.
- NAAOP hosted a Medicare Advantage webinar in July, which featured a detailed explanation of new tools that O&P practitioners and patients have to challenge denials. A recording of the webinar can be found on its website.
- R. 4315, the Medicare O&P Patient-Centered Care Act, has been introduced in Congress and NAAOP’s Legislative Action Center can help interested parties write to their representatives in Congress asking them to support and cosponsor the bill.
Ketelhohn discussed the highlights of her fellowship:
- The Department of Veterans Affairs rescinded its handbook and released a series of regulations and directives replacing their practices and procedures for treating O&P patients. She researched the changes and summarized them in a memo that will be available soon.
- Ketelhohn did a thorough examination into the state of osseointegration and created a white paper of her findings which will be available soon to NAAOP members and friends.
- She visited NAAOP clinical members in Gainesville Prosthetics and the Orthotic Prosthetic Group of America to gain a better understanding of O&P care from the clinician’s perspective.
- She helped organize the NAAOP Virtual Congressional Fly-In in July and schedule the meetings with Congress so NAAOP members could advocate about the Medicare O&P Patient-Centered Care Act. The event “was a resounding success,” she said.
- The webinar on Medicare Advantage was a success. A recording of the webinar can be found on NAAOP’s website.
Thomas thanked Ketelhohn for her service and the NAAOP members and friends who contributed financially and offered in-kind contributions to the 2023 fellowship.
To contact your member of congress to encourage their support and cosponsorship of H.R. 4315, visit NAAOP’s Congressional Action Center.
To watch NAAOP’s latest update, visit its YouTube page.
