On Sept. 18, the U.S. Senate introduced new legislation which will finally provide meaningful coverage for prosthetic care.
The S 3517 prosthetic parity bill was created to ensure that amputees covered by private and group health insurance are able to access the prosthetic care they need to lead full and independent lives. The House version of this bill (HR 5615) was introduced in March.
The American Board for Certification in Orthotics, Prosthetics and Pedorthics, Inc (ABC) has been supporting the Amputee Coalition of America’s (ACA) prosthetic parity efforts since 2007.
The prosthetic parity bill was brought to the Senate floor by Olympia Snowe (R-ME), Tom Harkin (D-IA), Daniel Inouye (D-HI) and Russell Feingold (D-WI), and will be the first Federal bill that has been presented to Congress that fully addresses the reduction of prosthetic device coverage by private insurers.
Recently, the American Association of Breast Cancer Professionals (AABCP) joined ACA in the fight for the passing of the new legislation. Since seeing a current trend of lack of adequate payment, coverage time limits and treatment quantity limits with regards to breast prostheses and mastectomy bras, the AABCP has worked to add external breast prostheses to the bill.
If you would like to learn more about how to join in this fight, visit the ACA’s website at www.amputee-coalition.org.