The COVID-19 pandemic has led to an increasing reliance on telehealth and other virtual forms of patient interaction. However, under the current billing structure, orthotists and prosthetists are unable to submit claims for certain Medicare services despite being considered essential providers. Key members of Congress are currently circulating a letter to be sent to Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar and Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Seema Verma urging them to reconsider this policy during the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency (PHE). We urge you to write your legislators and ask them to sign on to this letter.
During the pandemic, orthotists and prosthetists have relied on telehealth as a valuable mechanism for providing care to patients to address issues such as skin breakdowns, ensuring safe use of the prosthesis and/or orthosis, and assisting beneficiaries with adjustments to their wearing schedules. While our profession is able to provide a wide range of direct clinical care via telehealth there is currently no reimbursement for non-repair services provided to these patients after 90 days from the date of delivery. The congressional letter seeks a temporary solution to this issue.
We’d love to have your legislators join this letter – please visit our AOPA Votes page to get started. The process will take just a few minutes but can make a big difference. Thank you for your advocacy efforts!
Questions? Contact AOPA’s Director of Government Affairs Justin Beland at jbeland@AOPAnet.org.