Proposed legislation, submitted May 19 by Representative David McKinley (R-WV), would amend the Social Security Act (SSA) to provide bundled payments for post-acute care services under parts A and B of Medicare, and for other purposes. Under this system, Medicare would make one reduced payment to a contracted entity to provide all services for a patient for the first 90 days after discharge from the hospital. The American Orthotic & Prosthetic Association (AOPA) has announced that orthotics and prosthetics have been exempted from this proposed legislation.
Prior to the introduction of this proposed bill, AOPA said it had several meetings with key members of Congress, and submitted a position paper to other key congressional staff, outlining the reasoning and need for orthotics and prosthetics to be included in the list of exceptions to post-acute care bundling. The O&P Alliance echoed these sentiments in separate meetings and testimonies before Congress. As a result of this joint effort, AOPA also said it received preliminary assurances from staffers on the House Energy and Commerce Committee indicating a favorable response to AOPA’s position.
AOPA said it will follow this legislation and continue to make every effort to ensure that O&P remains exempt from any similar pieces of legislation.
