In December 2000 Congress passed the Benefits Improvement Act (BIPA), which, among other provisions, aims to protect patients from receiving orthotic and prosthetic care from unqualified providers. The Negotiated Rulemaking (NegReg) Committee has been assembled to assist Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson in the task of devising rules and regulations to implement the legislation. Concerns have been expressed about the lack of appropriate NegReg Committee representation by patient advocacy groups. Although the Paralyzed Veterans of America (PVA) has a place on the committee, it cannot adequately represent the concerns of amputees, stated Tony Barr, president of the Barr Foundation, which has requested a seat on the committee. Morris Gallo, CPO, who has suggested to the Amputee Coalition of America (ACA) that it should participate on the committee, agreed that consumers are not being appropriately represented. "The ACA said it didn't feel it was qualified," Gallo added. Brad Ruhl, ACA board member and chairperson of the Public Policy and Advocacy Committee, responded that this issue was discussed at length. "ACA's perception was that the NegReg Committee will be primarily addressing an orthotic issue, with its major concern focusing on who will be deemed qualified to fit custom orthoses," Ruhl said. In view of this, the ACA board decided that this was not an appropriate place to allocate ACA resources. "If this situation changes, we would certainly be prepared to adjust our approach," he added. "It's not that we're not concerned," agreed Paddy Rossbach, RN, ACA president and CEO. "But we must be fiscally responsible. Being seated at the table for the entire process requires the presence of two people at two days of meetings each month." Ruhl notes that the ACA is convinced that the interests of amputees will be well-served by several prosthetic provider representatives currently on the committee. Rossbach also mentioned alternate arrangements to keep in the loop, including reports from an organization sitting on the committee and possible teleconferences with the conveners.
In December 2000 Congress passed the Benefits Improvement Act (BIPA), which, among other provisions, aims to protect patients from receiving orthotic and prosthetic care from unqualified providers. The Negotiated Rulemaking (NegReg) Committee has been assembled to assist Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson in the task of devising rules and regulations to implement the legislation. Concerns have been expressed about the lack of appropriate NegReg Committee representation by patient advocacy groups. Although the Paralyzed Veterans of America (PVA) has a place on the committee, it cannot adequately represent the concerns of amputees, stated Tony Barr, president of the Barr Foundation, which has requested a seat on the committee. Morris Gallo, CPO, who has suggested to the Amputee Coalition of America (ACA) that it should participate on the committee, agreed that consumers are not being appropriately represented. "The ACA said it didn't feel it was qualified," Gallo added. Brad Ruhl, ACA board member and chairperson of the Public Policy and Advocacy Committee, responded that this issue was discussed at length. "ACA's perception was that the NegReg Committee will be primarily addressing an orthotic issue, with its major concern focusing on who will be deemed qualified to fit custom orthoses," Ruhl said. In view of this, the ACA board decided that this was not an appropriate place to allocate ACA resources. "If this situation changes, we would certainly be prepared to adjust our approach," he added. "It's not that we're not concerned," agreed Paddy Rossbach, RN, ACA president and CEO. "But we must be fiscally responsible. Being seated at the table for the entire process requires the presence of two people at two days of meetings each month." Ruhl notes that the ACA is convinced that the interests of amputees will be well-served by several prosthetic provider representatives currently on the committee. Rossbach also mentioned alternate arrangements to keep in the loop, including reports from an organization sitting on the committee and possible teleconferences with the conveners.