CPO Sues Over Accreditation

A Baton Rouge, Louisiana, CPO and his O&P business are suing
the state of Louisiana’s Department of Health and Hospitals (DHH)
and its Division of Administration over what they believe is an
unfair and discriminatory new barrier to certain O&P
businesses. On July 23, 2008, the Louisiana legislature passed Act
732, which requires that Louisiana state agencies purchase orthotic
or prosthetic items or services only from accredited facilities.
The law went into effect on January 1, 2009, nearly 10 months
before the September 20 Medicare national deadline for
accreditation. George Lambert Jr., CPO, and his more than
60-year-old business, Lambert’s Orthotics &
Prosthetics/Patients Aids, contend in their lawsuit that even if
Louisiana O&P facilities began their accreditation process
immediately after Act 732 was passed into law, they could not have
become accredited in time for the January 1 deadline.