Please view our video webcast and update:
O&P Policy Challenges in the Year Ahead
2016 brought important policy victories that bear repeating. But as we
enter the new year, a whole new set of challenges and opportunities will
confront O&P patients and providers.
O&P Research: NAAOP participated in a major effort to pass S. 800/H.R.
1631, legislation that will elevate the stature and better coordinate
rehabilitation and disability research at the National Institutes of Health
(NIH), including orthotic and prosthetic research and development. O&P
research policy and funding was the issue on which NAAOP was founded 30
years ago and we continued to have an impact on this critical issue in 2016.
ALJ Appeals Backlog: In a major victory for Medicare providers in which
NAAOP counsel participated, the D.C. District Court recently compelled the
Secretary of HHS to eliminate the extensive backlog of ALJ Medicare cases by
2020. HHS must now figure out how to dispose of the cases within the
court’s timeframe. The government may appeal the decision by the deadline
in early February, but pressure will continue to build on HHS to settle
thousands of ALJ appeals in order to reduce the 750,000 case Medicare
backlog. NAAOP will be pushing to have O&P claims considered for potential
settlements, assuming providers have the option to accept the settlements.
Incoming Trump Administration and the 115th Congress: The incoming Trump
Administration and a Republican-led House and Senate will mean that many
proposals to fundamentally restructure and reform major government health
care programs will be hotly debated, and significant changes to
long-standing programs may occur, including:
• Affordable Care Act: Repeal and replace the existing private health
insurance law
• Medicare: Restructure the program into a “defined contribution” approach
• Medicaid: Repeal Medicaid expansion and “block grant” the traditional
program
Despite serious challenges on many fronts, incoming HHS Secretary, Tom
Price, a former Georgia Congressman and orthopedic surgeon, understands the
world of DMEPOS and may offer some key opportunities to advance O&P policy.
NAAOP will continue to assess all proposals based on their impact on the O&P
patient and the providers who serve them, and is expecting an
extraordinarily busy year.
Thank you for your past membership and continuing support of NAAOP and we
look forward to confronting the challenges and opportunities in 2017
together.
Please visit our website at: www.naaop.org
NAAOP
1501 M Street, NW
7th Floor
Washington, DC 20005-1700
e-mail: [email protected]
(800) 622-6740
(202) 624-0064 Phone
(202) 785-1756 Fax
www.naaop.org
