On June 3, the O&P Alliance, including AOPA’s President Charles Dankmeyer, and Executive Director Tom Fise, JD, met with the Deputy Administrator and Director of the Center for Program Integrity at CMS. The meeting included several topics: local coverage determination (LCD) recognition of O&P clinicians’ notes as part of the medical record; who can bill […]
As we begin 2015, AOPA is excited to offer a new form of communication to all members of the O&P community, AOPA’s Take. Using a blog style format, AOPA’s Take will keep you in the loop regarding news and information that is vital to the business of O&P. While AOPA has established lines of communication […]
CMS Reverses Fields, Scuttles Current Process for Redefining Orthotics, and for Limiting Scope of Practice for Certified Orthotic Fitters Late on Friday afternoon, October 31, CMS released the massive final rule covering end stage renal disease payments and a host of other topics, including its proposal to further amend the regulatory definition of “minimal self-adjustment,” […]
Read the important letter to CMS Administrator Tavenner from Senators Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Tom Harkin (D-IA). The letter speaks for itself, but its essence is to directly challenge CMS for exceeding the simple and straightforward statutory language “minimal self-adjustment” in defining off-the-shelf orthotics. These leading legislators, both of whom were in the Senate about a decade […]
AOPA will be testifying during today’s Regional SBA Hearing being held in Seattle, WA titled “Regulatory Fairness Hearing for Small Business.” AOPA will testify on behalf of our members on the RAC and Pre-payment audit practices jeopardizing the economic viability of our members. You may read AOPA’s submitted testimony online. Background This hearing is being […]
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has announced that the second of several Open Door Forums to discuss the proposed physician documentation template for O&P services will be held on Thursday, June 13, 2013 from 4pm-5pm EDT. AOPA encourages all of its members to participate on this call and provide feedback to CMS regarding […]
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has published a draft document on its website that, in its words, “will assist physicians with documenting the physician notes that substantiate the need for a Lower Limb Prostheses.” AOPA believes that the draft template, in its proposed form, actually represents imposition by CMS of a serious […]
American Orthotic & Prosthetic Association Files Lawsuit Against Medicare Arising from Unfair Medicare RAC/Pre-payment Audits, Where No Fraud Exists, and Challenges Unlawful Changes to Medicare Standard for Care of Medicare Amputees Today, the American Orthotic and Prosthetic Association (AOPA) filed suit against HHS/Medicare in the Federal District Court for the District of Columbia, seeking relief […]
Alexandria, VA – May 13, 2014 Today, the American Orthotic and Prosthetic Association (AOPA) filed suit against HHS/Medicare in the Federal District Court for the District of Columbia, seeking relief from the unfair and unauthorized actions of the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services, primarily via actions of its RAC auditors and DME MACs relating […]
AOPA would like to remind its members that revised limits for Additional Documentation Requests (ADRs) for RAC audits involving O&P claims were implemented as of April 3, 2013. While the ADR calculation remains unchanged at 10% of claims submitted during the previous year, divided by 8, for each 45 day period, CMS has limited the […]
