inMotion Magazine

November | December 2018 18 Have you ever made a decision or done something that would not only improve your own circumstances, but would impact others as well? The limb loss community is no different. Everyone has had to come up with solutions to obstacles they face on a daily basis in their personal lives. When these obstacles involve being an advocate, these solutions can go beyond personal benefit and help the entire community. The more people fight for the access to care they need, the better chance we have as a community to get insurance companies and elected officials to make better decisions to benefit access to care for the limb loss community. You may not realize it, but you’re being an advocate by finding solutions for issues affecting you personally every day. It can be as simple as talking with your medical team to determine a course of treatment to increase your mobility. In this example, you are advocating for the ability to be more active and independent. If you’re in a state with an enacted Insurance Fairness for Amputees law, you can take that self-advocacy even further and use that law as grounds for your appeal. Either way, you are advocating to find a solution based on your personal circumstance. However, this example actually impacts far more than yourself. Your actions may inspire others to talk to their medical team, or encourage your team to work with others the way they work with you. As you fight insurance denials, it may result in others doing the same, which could result in insurance companies re-evaluating their processes. The idea of advocacy is often thought of on a broader scale for larger situations, but the Amputee Coalition encourages people to engage in advocacy because not only can it improve your personal situation, it can also help other people with limb loss. The most common way we enlist the limb loss community to work toward a community goal is through sharing your story to help bolster your argument when speaking with legislators or insurance companies. We have constructed two avenues to allow people with limb loss to convey their stories. The first is the calls to actions that come to you via email or on social media when we need the community to advocate for a specific initiative or issue. The second is AmplifyYourself.org , a platform that enables people to contact their insurance company to address questions or concerns regarding their access to care. AMPLIFY presents an opportunity for people living with limb loss to connect with their insurance company on another level. Your concerns are elevated beyond a claims reviewer directly to the medical director and CEO of your insurance company. Not only does AmplifyYourself.org connect you with your insurance company, it elevates your case to a level unavailable to most people. AMPLIFY has also expanded its parameters to include contact with state and federal legislators. This expansion comes because if insurance companies don’t respond to the pressure, legislators are the next targets for a potential solution for addressing access to care challenges facing the limb loss community. Making legislators aware of the issues their constituents are facing, especially regarding fair insurance coverage, may prompt them to pursue legislative solutions for the limb loss community.