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The Federal Prosthetic and Custom Orthotic Parity Act (S. 3223) was introduced April 19 by Senators Olympia Snowe (R-ME) and Tom Harkin (D-IA). The Amputee Coalition of America (ACA) and the American Orthotic & Prosthetic Association (AOPA) have worked together with special help from the O&P Alliance over the past year to get the Senate bill introduced. In addition to the Alliance members and the ACA, there are more than 25 other nonprofit organizations with a stake in O&P patient care outcomes supporting the legislation. The importance of federal parity and state parity legislation has grown dramatically with the passage of the recent healthcare reform law, which permits health insurers to sell across state lines under "health insurance compacts." These multi-state arrangements allow the insurer to select the lowest common regulatory denominator. It is feared that states without parity laws would often be the insurer's regulatory venue of first choice. This choice would, in effect, rescind or override any parity laws that may have been passed in other states served by the "health insurance compact." This makes federal parity and state parity laws virtually indispensable, both in filling the gaps created by self-insured employers regulated by ERISA that are unaffected by state laws as well as reinforcing existing state laws that govern state-regulated insurance offerings. The House P&O bill, HR 2575, was introduced last year by Representatives Rob Andrews (D-NJ) and George Miller (D-CA), who is also chair of the Education and Labor Committee. We have strong bipartisan, chief sponsors of our Senate and House bills. Senator Snowe said the following about the Senate bill: “Our legislation will ensure that group health plans treat coverage of such prosthetics and custom orthotics on par with other essential medical care covered by health insurance. Providing more meaningful coverage is particularly essential for children, who may require more frequent replacements as they grow.” Senator Harkin added: “Hundreds of thousands of Americans living with limb loss are currently required by their insurance companies to pay out-of-pocket for prosthetic devices that are integral to their daily lives. While most insurance companies cover prosthetics and orthotics, there are many instances where the benefits are arbitrarily capped or exclusions are imposed on those who need them. This legislation will require insurance companies to provide the same benefits for prosthetic devices as they do for other treatments, helping individuals with disabilities more fully participate in school, work and community activities.” Representative Andrews said the following about the House bill: “By expanding coverage for prosthetic devices so that it is on par with other types of essential care, not only will amputees receive necessary treatment and experience better quality of life, but the healthcare industry as a whole will save money. Since prosthetics often dramatically decrease secondary health problems for those in need, the benefits of this coverage far outweigh the costs in the long run.” At this critical point, with a House bill and now a Senate bill both introduced, the ACA is gearing up grassroots activities and has a call to action for you to contact your member of Congress and ask him/her to sign as a cosponsor of the bill.   IN THE SENATE If Senator Snowe or Harkin is your senator, please e-mail a thank you to her/him for introducing S. 3223 and for her/his support. Otherwise, we need your help to ask your Senator to sign on S. 3223 as a cosponsor. Please e-mail/call your Senator today and ask: Senator [NAME HERE], please support S. 3223, the Prosthetic and Custom Orthotic Parity Act of 2010, by becoming a cosponsor on the bill. Arms and legs are not luxuries, and this legislation will ensure that I (my spouse/child/etc.) will have fair access to prosthetic arms and legs. Thank you for your support. PUT YOUR FULL ADDRESS HERE SO THEY WILL IDENTIFY YOU AS A CONSTITUENT   IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES Here is a list of current sponsors of the House bill, HR 2575. Click here to search for their contact information. Rep Chaffetz, Jason [UT-3]   Rep Clarke, Yvette D. [NY-11] Rep Dent, Charles W. [PA-15]   Rep Diaz-Balart, Lincoln [FL-21] Rep Gonzalez, Charles A. [TX-20]   Rep Green, Al [TX-9] Rep Kagen, Steve [WI-8]   Rep Kilroy, Mary Jo [OH-15] Rep King, Peter T. [NY-3]   Rep McCarthy, Carolyn [NY-4] Rep McGovern, James P. [MA-3]   Rep Miller, George [CA-7] Rep Moran, Jerry [KS-1]   Rep Platts, Todd Russell [PA-19] Rep Sestak, Joe [PA-7]   Rep Wamp, Zach [TN-3] If your House member has already signed on, please e-mail and thank him/her for supporting HR 2575: Thank you, Rep. [NAME HERE] for your support of HR 2575. Passing this bill will make a difference in my life and the lives of amputees across the country. Arms and legs are not luxury items. Prosthetic arms and legs should be accessible for amputees. I very much appreciate you being a cosponsor on HR 2575. PUT YOUR FULL ADDRESS HERE SO THEY WILL IDENTIFY YOU AS A CONSTITUENT If your House member is not a sponsor, please e-mail/call him/her and ask him/her to cosponsor HR 2575: I would very much like Rep. [NAME HERE] to support HR 2575 by signing on as a cosponsor. This legislation is crucial. Putting it simply, arms and legs are not luxury items. Prosthetic arms and legs should be accessible for amputees. Please cosponsor HR 2575. PUT YOUR FULL ADDRESS HERE SO THEY WILL IDENTIFY YOU AS A CONSTITUENT If Rep. Andrews is your House member, please thank him for serving as lead sponsor on the House bill, HR 2575. Rep Andrews, Robert E. [NJ-1] Locate your Congress member: House at writerep.house.gov/writerep/welcome.shtml Senate at senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm PLEASE E-MAIL Dan Ignaszewski at dan@amputee-coalition.org when you contact your Congress members.   HELP SUPPORT THE EFFORT The prospect of passing parity legislation in this Congress makes your support even more necessary. Your participation in our grassroots activities is critical and we also would very much appreciate your financial support as well. We have momentum and we need your help and support to keep it up. Please make a donation today to the ACA Advocacy Fund.

*This page is funded by the ACA and not supported with CDC grant funding. Views expressed in the contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the ACA.