The National
Association for the Advancement of Orthotics and Prosthetics (NAAOP) has
released it latest webcast in which General Counsel Peter Thomas, JD,
comments on a hearing held April 17 where the
House Veterans Affairs Health Subcommittee discussed Department of
Veterans Affairs (VA) legislation, including H.R. 2322, the Injured and
Amputee Veterans Bill of Rights.
The
bill originally passed the House in 2010, but the Senate failed to act
on it. Though the bill has been reintroduced several times, it took on
greater importance last fall when the VA announced a proposed regulation
that would give the VA “sole authority” to determine which prosthetist
would provide a veteran’s care. The proposal would change more than five
decades of legislation that has allowed veterans to make that choice.
All
O&P Alliance organizations—the American Orthotic & Prosthetic
Association, the American Academy of Orthotists and Prosthetists , the
American Board for Certification in Orthotics, Prosthetics and
Pedorthics, the Board for Certification/Accreditation, and NAAOP—and the
Amputee Coalition support the bill’s passage, Thomas said.
NAAOP
will continue to work with Rep. Tim Walberg (R-MI), who introduced the
bipartisan legislation, to seek a mark-up of H.R. 2322 in the VA Health
Subcommittee, he said.
The latest webcast is posted on the NAAOP website and on NAAOP’s YouTube channel as well as oandp.com, shared with member via email and made available via the NAAOP Facebook page.