A bill was introduced in the Kentucky legislature on February 13 that, if passed, would provide equal coverage for all high-tech prosthetic devices. Twenty states currently have laws requiring prostheses to be equally covered by insurance.
Kentucky’s House Bill (HB) 376 would require health benefit plans; health maintenance organizations (HMOs); and nonprofit hospitals, medical-surgical corporations, and health services corporations subject to Kentuck Revised Statutes (KRS) Chapter 304, Subtitle 32 “to cover the most technologically advanced prosthetic artificial leg or arm available,” including repairs and replacements, as determined by the insured’s physician and the prosthesis must be provided by an accredited or Medicare Part B-qualified practitioner.
Further, required health benefit plan coverage must equal reimbursement provided by Medicare Part B.
The bill was sponsored by Representatives Carl Rollins II (D), Derrick Graham (D), Tom Burch (D), and Jeff Greer (D). It was inspired by Stephanie Decker, a Kentucky native who lost her legs in the 2012 Henryville, Indiana, tornado. She told Kentucky news station WLKY that it was the insurance fairness for amputees law in Indiana that allowed her to receive the two microprocessor-controlled legs she now uses.
