Of the top three concerns identified at the Shared Vision conference, which is the most important: conducting more effective research, developing a unified voice, or ensuring only certified practitioners bill Medicare?

All three are extremely important, but I would have to say research. In our field, some of the stuff is just self-evident. But to document it and convince insurance, that’s a huge issue. Being reimbursed hasn’t been a huge problem for me, but sometimes insurers will beef a little bit if you don’t have the facts and figures to back up [your claim].

One thing that needs to happen is the creation of some kind of information center with a melting pot of information—maybe a comprehensive Web site—that practitioners had access to and would have everything you need to document different types of cases.

Martin Stevens, CPO
Mercy General Health Partners
Muskegon, Mich

Research is most important [because] we need better reimbursements. They are terrible. We can’t take care of patients properly because we can’t give them what they really need and get paid for it. Reimbursement needs to be sufficient for us to make a profit.

We are the ones who are trained—the prosthetists and orthotists—to evaluate what the patient needs. We are trained through our schooling and through our years of experience. We know what’s better for a patient than a doctor or therapist or an insurance company, for that matter. So we should be able to prescribe what the patient needs, get paid for it and not have a lot of hassle.

Dorsey Hildebrand Jr., CP
Hanger Prosthetics & Orthotics Inc.
Atlanta

The biggest concern is creating a unified voice. When there are talks about certification bodies merging [and then the] negotiations break down, it doesn’t look good outside of the industry.

If things had been worked out ten years ago, then everyone would be on an equal level. The fact that there are multiple ways to be certified is a disadvantage. There’re so many credentials now [and] what do they even mean? How is someone who’s not in the field supposed to know if a CP is more qualified educationally than a BOCP?

What this field really needs is numbers. The physical therapists have huge numbers compared to us, so their lobbying power is significantly greater. Why not bring them into the field and educate them? Maybe there’s a way to get them to join ABC. Maybe they could take more certification classes to make them more qualified. All of sudden, they’re paying dues to ABC and ABC has more money, numbers and lobbying power.

Leroy Oddie
Abilities Unlimited Inc.
Colorado Springs, Co

Only certified practitioners should be able to bill Medicare. I think you should have a college degree and go through an appropriate O&P school.

If we had an appropriate voice and an appropriate base in the field—basically licensure—we would be the only ones to provide O&P services. I don’t like encroachment, but that’s our own fault. We got lazy and didn’t protect ourselves. People in licensure states are protected and are getting what they should be getting—O&P services.

I would like to see ABC and BOC make one unified body. If they did that, we’d have more numbers, a bigger voice and let us stand a little bit taller among the lawmakers.

Bob Rollinson, CPO
Hanger Prosthetics & Orthotics Inc.
Augusta, Maine

Certified practitioners should be the only ones who can bill Medicare for orthotic and prosthetic services. When you have orthopedic surgeons and PTs fitting knee orthoses, diabetic footwear or custom orthoses that we’d normally get, that takes money out of our pockets.

But I’m not a big proponent of licensure. I do work in Illinois where I have to have licensure. I don’t see where it’s made a big difference in seeing patients. Chiropractors and others can bill the same codes.

I don’t think achieving this has to do with unity. We just need a louder voice in Washington. Our lobbyists just aren’t doing a good enough job.

Len Orzechowski, CO
American Prosthetics & Orthotics Inc.
Davenport, Iowa