Congress is in the process of completing a new COVID-19 stimulus package that includes a new round of Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans, tax relief, and other measures, with votes set for today. Congress will ultimately pair the deal with additional legislation to fund the government for the next fiscal year. The roughly $900 billion […]
Alexandria, VA (December 1, 2020) – Today, the American Orthotic and Prosthetic Association (AOPA) announced its 2021 Board of Directors. The Executive Committee will consist of Traci Dralle, CFm who assumes the role of President. Along with, Jeff Lutz, CPO who moves into the role of Immediate Past President and Dave McGill who becomes President-Elect. […]
Today, AOPA sent a letter to the Department of Health and Human Services urging them to include O&P providers among the first to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. In addition, AOPA attended today’s meeting and submitted comments with the same request to the CDC’s Advisory Council on Immunization Practices, the group charged with making recommendations for […]
AOPA, in collaboration with other healthcare organizations, has actively supported the inclusion of nurse practitioners (NPs) and physician assistants (PAs) to serve as certifying practitioners under the Medicare diabetic shoe benefit. The Social Security Act states that the certifying physician must be the MD or DO that is managing the patient’s systemic diabetic condition. This […]
On October 27, 2020, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced the Single Payment Amounts (SPAs) for select Off-the-Shelf (OTS) knee and OTS spinal orthosis codes included in the Medicare DMEPOS competitive bidding program scheduled for implementation on January 1, 2021. AOPA has continually expressed a need for CMS to delay implementation of […]
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has published an update on the economic factors that are used to calculate the Medicare O&P fee schedule. The annual Medicare fee schedule increase for O&P services is based on a combination of change in the Consumer Pricing Index for Urban Areas (CPI-U) from June to June […]
Congress has passed a short-term spending bill to keep government programs operating at 2020 funding levels through December 11. Included in the 115-page bill are important revisions to the Medicare Accelerated and Advance Payments Program (AAP) that extends the deadline for providers to start repaying Medicare advance payment loans. AOPA worked closely with our congressional champions […]
Recently, AOPA asked the DME MACs to clarify this existing language in the AFO/KAFO Policy Article related to custom fabricated braces: In addition, if the item is custom fabricated, a complete and clear description of the item, including what makes this item unique, and a breakdown of charges (material and labor used in fabrication). This […]
On September 19, 2020, the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released guidance articulating how to account for lost revenues and expenses and addressing recipient reporting requirements for those receiving Provider Relief Fund (PRF) payments. The guidance applies generally to PRF recipients that received one or more PRF payments exceeding $10,000. The $10,000 reporting threshold […]
The DME MACs have recently clarified language in the AFO/KAFO Policy Article that currently states the following: MISCELLANEOUS In addition, if the item is custom fabricated, a complete and clear description of the item, including what makes this item unique, and a breakdown of charges (material and labor used in fabrication). This information should be […]
