Month: December 2019

Friday, November 22, the House of Representatives introduced the Medicare O&P Patient-Centered Care Act (H.R. 5262). This bipartisan legislation would improve access to, and quality of orthotic and prosthetic care received by Medicare beneficiaries while simultaneously combatting fraud and abuse. Specifically, this bill would:

• Restore congressional intent by revising the overly expansive regulatory interpretation of the meaning of “off-the-shelf” orthotics to clarify that competitive bidding may only apply to orthoses that require minimal self-adjustment by patients themselves, not the patient’s caregiver or a supplier.
• Distinguish the clinical, service-oriented nature in which O&P is provided from the commodity-based nature of the durable medical equipment benefit.
• Reduce the likelihood of waste, fraud, and abuse in the Medicare program by prohibiting the practice of “drop shipping” of orthotic braces that are not truly “off-the-shelf” (i.e., subject to minimal self-adjustment by the patient him- or herself).

We need your help, if we don’t advocate for our needs and the needs of patients, no one will. Visit AOPAvotes and take a few minutes to write your legislator and urge them to support this important legislation.

If you have any questions, contact Justin Beland, AOPA Director of Government Affairs at jbeland@AOPAnet.org.

Thank you for your support, together we can continue to improve the lives of those living with limb loss and limb impairment.