John Singer

I am a retired federal prosecutor and current adjunct law professor.  After being diagnosed with bilateral idiopathic denervation below my knees in 2013, I started using AFOs on both legs in 2022.  They have been game changers for me and my family.  Separately, while descending stairs, one AFO broke in 2024 and the other in 2025.  I then learned that my insurance, Medicare and Federal BC/BS, would not pay for replacements, only paying for new orthotics every five years. This required me to pay $1,100 each for new AFOs.  Appreciating that for most people this type of cost is at best a hardship and for many an impossibility, I began working towards expanding the availability of orthotics.  One way is by advocating in support of legislation such as the So Every BODY Can Move Act that would expend insurance coverage.  Another is by working towards creating, along with my wife, an endowment, AFOs for All, at the Johns Hopkins Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Department that will provide financial assistance for obtaining orthotics.  We are also funding the creation of an AFO Assessment kit at Hopkins.