Prosthetic Coverage on the Legislative Agenda in Many States

By: Morgan Sheets, National Advocacy Director

Legislative sessions commenced all over the country in January.  For many states, the session will include a strong focus on access to health care.  This will be helpful to the ten states where a prosthetic coverage bill has been introduced.

Campaign committees all over the country are busy gearing up to prepare for lobby days, gather testimony for legislative hearings and work to expand their activist base in order to support their state bill. 

In Pennsylvania, they just finished working on the “10 in 10” initiative, an effort where activists across the state each gathered ten signatures over the course of ten days in order to increase the number of activists working on the parity issue in a short span of time.  The initiative was a great success.  Several other states are working to launch “10 in 10” in their own states.

In many states, including Oregon and Connecticut, the committees are working with the ACA to bring activists to the Capitol to meet with their legislators.  And in Virginia, they are planning a day of education in order to help raise awareness about orthotic and prosthetic care.  

But the activity is not limited to the ten states with bills this session.  There are an additional eleven states that are working to build committees, educate the public and gather support from elected officials in order to introduce their own bill in the near future.  This brings the total number of campaigns to 21, a huge increase from the 8 states that were working on parity at the beginning of 2006.  

Our goal is to make prosthetic coverage a reality across the United States. One of the most important elements of organizing for success is the demonstrated support of individuals who will benefit from and support this important legislation.  We cannot do this alone! Every person and every voice counts. We are always looking for people to get involved.   Whether it is by writing a letter or contacting us to start a campaign committee in their state, there are many ways for people to get involved.

It is easy to make a difference.  The ACA just produced a new and improved organizing kit for state campaigns.  It is available in hard copy or it can be downloaded from our website.  We also launched an online action center where people can share their stories, stay up to date about activities in their state and access organizing materials.

As the legislative sessions roll on, we have a great deal of work ahead of us, but with the continued commitment of our members and industry partners, we will continue to succeed!  

To get involved in the ACA’s campaign for prosthetic coverage, contact the Advocacy Staff at 202/742-1885 or state@amputee-coalition.org. Check out the new organizing materials at: http://www.amputee-coalition.org/advocacy/index.html.