The Amputee Coalition of America (ACA) and the American Orthotic and Prosthetic Association (AOPA) have awarded Senators Tom Harkin (D-IA) and Olympia J. Snowe (R-ME) and Representatives Robert E. Andrews (D-NJ), George Miller (D-CA), and Lincoln Diaz-Balart (R-FL) with their joint organizations’ 2009 Legislative Appreciation Awards.
The awards were presented on September 16 at a mini “Hill Day” event, with more than 40 amputees and advocates from around the country also visiting Capitol Hill to make specific recommendations to Congress for the inclusion of prosthetic arms and legs in the national healthcare-reform legislation.
“For their commitment, dedication, and service [in] ensuring quality healthcare for amputees and their effort to make certain that fair insurance coverage is available for prosthetic arms and legs, we are proud to present these awards as a token of our appreciation to these members of Congress,” said Kendra Calhoun, ACA president and CEO. Calhoun emphasized that healthcare for amputees needs fair consideration in any healthcare-reform proposal. “Amputees are no longer a hidden part of our society, and they need to be heard in the healthcare debate. This is the message they will carry to Capitol Hill today.”
The ACA and other disability groups have heralded the inclusion in the healthcare-reform bills of guaranteed issue and renewal of coverage in the individual and small-group markets, the prohibition of pre-existing health condition exclusions, and the end of annual and lifetime insurance caps, with a limit on out-of-pocket spending. According to Calhoun, amputees also want a guarantee that they will have fair access to arms and legs.
In May, Andrews introduced the “Prosthetic and Custom Orthotic Parity Act of 2009” (HR 2575), which would require employer-paid health plans to provide coverage for prosthetic and custom-fabricated orthotic devices on par with the coverage offered for other medical and surgical services. Harkin and Snowe co-sponsored a similar prosthetic parity bill in the Senate in 2008 and are working on introducing a new one this year. Miller and Diaz-Balart also signed on to the House bill as lead sponsors.
“At a time when healthcare costs are rising by about seven percent annually, the financial hardship on those in need of prosthetic devices is devastating,” Andrews said. “Yet, by expanding coverage for prosthetic devices so that it is on par with other types of essential care, not only will amputees receive necessary treatment and experience better quality of life, but the healthcare industry as a whole will save money. Since prosthetics often dramatically decrease secondary health problems for those in need, the benefits of this coverage far outweigh the costs in the long run.”
Though 17 states have passed similar prosthetic parity laws, amputee advocates still say that there needs to be a national law.
“These state laws have helped many people,” said Tom Fise, AOPA executive director, “but they are not enough. Without a federal law, there will always be amputees who fall through the cracks.”
