Prosthetic Consumers News:

I received this article by the ACA President, Paddy Rossbach from my SGL group. I thought it was important enough to pass on to you. Take a moment to read it, our future as prosthetic users make it worth while.

Medicare Competitive Bidding Demonstration
Setting the Record Straight for Prosthetic Consumers

As the national consumer education organization for people with limb loss, ACA has been under a constant barrage of attacks from a small and very vocal minority of individuals who have questioned the ACA’s tactical approach to addressing two issues of great significance to the O&P field. These issues are: (1) the negotiated rulemaking process that is currently underway to determine who is qualified to provide certain services and (2) the proposals by the House Committees on Energy and Commerce and Ways and Means to expand a demonstration program that was launched in San Antonio, Texas, to provide certain O&P procedures on a competitively bid basis in an effort to achieve a cost savings in the Medicare program.

It is essential to note that ACA fully supports ensuring that consumers of prosthetic care are afforded the highest levels of protection available. While ACA has not taken and will not take sides in the ongoing credentialing battles (nor have the federal payers such as Medicare and the VA), ACA strongly believes that patient education affords the most effective protection to consumers of prosthetic services. As a result, consumer education is central to all of ACA’s programmatic efforts. (To learn about ACA’s educational programs, log onto www.amputee-coalition.org and go to RE:News & RE:Views).

Moreover, as the national consumer organization for people with limb loss, ACA’s mission is to address issues affecting persons who are amputees. After comprehensive analysis, ACA has concluded that both the qualified provider negotiated rulemaking and the proposed expansion of the Medicare competitive bidding demonstration are issues affecting mostly the orthotic side of the orthotic and prosthetic equation, and, while ACA is certainly sympathetic towards people who have experienced a range of birth defects and neurological, neuromuscular and paralyzing conditions that are addressed through orthotic care, these issues are within neither the purview nor the mission of the ACA.

With regard to the negotiated rulemaking, ACA has been in communication with the conveners of the committee and with many of the organizations that will be seated at the negotiated rulemaking table, including the American Academy of Orthotists and Prosthetics (AAOP), the American Orthotic & Prosthetic Association (AOPA), and the American Board for Certification in Orthotics and Prosthetics (ABC). ACA will be closely monitoring the rulemaking deliberations and if and when an issue arises during the process that in any manner addresses or affects the provision of prosthetic care, ACA will take necessary and aggressive action as a public attendee of the negotiation to ensure a voice on behalf of prosthetic consumers.

A similar situation exists on the competitive bidding front. The House committees with jurisdiction of the Medicare program, Ways and Means and Energy and Commerce, are each likely to introduce legislation that includes an expansion of a competitive bidding demonstration for certain non-custom orthotic devices. ACA vehemently opposes competitive bidding for O&P services and is in communication with its congressional supporters on this issue. The reality of this situation, however, is that the focus of the proposed language is on non-custom orthotics such as fracture braces and not on highly complex prosthetic devices. Moreover, the proposed legislative language specifically exempts customized orthotics and prosthetics from the scope of the proposed demonstration. Again, ACA strongly opposes competitive bidding in the field of O&P, and should legislation ever involve prosthetics, ACA will fight aggressively; however, the current issue of concern is solely one involving non-custom orthotics.

As a mission-based organization, it is essential that ACA focus its resources and attention on issues that truly affect the provision of care to people with limb loss and not the host of other issues that do not meet this criterion. ACA has urged consumers to become educated on issues involving their care so that they may make informed decisions, rather than relying on hype and misinformation. This, too, applies in the area of public policy. Consumers must become educated on the issues and consider the various sources of information on which they rely so that they may also make informed decisions regarding the policies that affect their care. ACA’s role is to provide the credible, unbiased information that is necessary for an individual to become an empowered consumer.

Sincerely,

Paddy Rossbach,
Prosthetic Consumer and President and CEO
Amputee Coalition of America