As the national consumer education organization for persons with limb loss, Amputee Coalition has been under a constant barrage of attacks from a small and very vocal minority of individuals who have questioned the Amputee Coalition's tactical approach to addressing two issues of great significance to the O&P field. These issues include: the negotiated rulemaking process that is currently underway to determine who is qualified to provide certain services; and 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,TX 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 Amputee Coalition fully supports ensuring that consumers of prosthetic care are afforded the highest levels of protection available. While Amputee Coalition has and will not take sides in the ongoing credentialing battles (nor have the federal payers such as Medicare and the VA) Amputee Coalition 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 Amputee Coalition's programmatic efforts. (to learn about Amputee Coalition's educational programs, log onto www.amputee-coalition.org and go to RE:News & Reviews).
Moreover, as the national consumer organization for persons with limb loss, Amputee Coalition's mission is to address issues affecting persons who are amputees. After comprehensive analysis, Amputee Coalition has concluded that both the qualified provider negotiated rulemaking and the proposed expansion of the Medicare competitive bidding demonstration are issues affecting nearly entirely the orthotic side of the orthotic and prosthetic equation and, while Amputee Coalition is certainly sympathetic towards persons 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 Amputee Coalition.
With regard to the Negotiated Rulemaking, Amputee Coalition 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), American Orthotic & Prosthetic Association (AOPA), and the American Board of Certification of Orthotics and Prosthetics (ABC). Amputee Coalition will be closely monitoring the rulemaking deliberations and if and when an issue arises during the process that in any manner addresses or effects the provision of prosthetic care, Amputee Coalition 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. Amputee Coalition 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, Amputee Coalition strongly opposes competitive bidding in the field of O&P, and should legislation ever involve prosthetics, Amputee Coalition 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 Amputee Coalition focus its resources and attention on issues that truly affect the provision of care to persons with limb loss and not the host of other issues that do not meet this criterion. Amputee Coalition 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. Amputee Coalition'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
