Adding to the excitement of the 2013 O&P World Congress, the Medicare Orthotics and Prosthetics Improvement Act of 2013 (H.R. 3112) was introduced by Rep. Glenn Thompson (R-PA) and Rep. Mike Thompson (R-CA) on September 17, 2013. It takes a very constructive approach to tackling fraud and abuse while saving the Medicare program and taxpayers money.
It prohibits the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) from making any payment for orthotics and prosthetics to a provider who is not appropriately licensed (if a state requires licensure) or certified by ABC, BOC, or a certifying organization with similar requirements. These much needed reforms will assure that only qualified O&P practitioners will be paid for serving Medicare beneficiaries. Also, since eligibility for payment will be linked to the qualifications of the providers and the complexity of the device the patient needs, patient quality of care will also be assured. Additionally, taxpayer dollars will be saved through a reduction in poor outcomes and repeated charges for follow up O&P care that would not be necessary if a qualified provider served the patient in the first instance.
We very much need your help to create a ground swell of support for this bill. We are asking you to contact your Representatives and ask them to sign onto and become a co-sponsor of the Medicare Orthotics and Prosthetics Improvement Act of 2013 (H.R. 3112) via the Thompson ‘Dear Colleague’ Letter. Rep. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and Rep. Dutch Ruppersberger (D-MD) have already signed on as cosponsors. AOPA can meet with legislators and their health staffers to recruit and encourage them to become co-sponsors, but a Representative is unlikely to co-sponsor a bill, unless and until they sense that their support is also important to their constituency.
You can make this happen if you agree to send a letter to your Representatives. Below please find a draft email that you may insert your information and send directly and immediately to your Representatives, asking them to co-sponsor the Medicare Orthotics & Prosthetics Improvement Act of 2013 (H.R. 3112).
Click here to send a letter to your representative!
H.R. 3112 Reference Materials:
- Click here to see the Medicare Orthotics & Prosthetics Improvement Act (H.R. 3112)
- Click here to see Rep. Thompson’s ‘Dear Colleague’ Letter
- Click here to see details of the press announcement, the Dobson-DaVanzo report on improper CMS payments, and the resulting media stories.
Questions? Please contact AOPA at 571/431-0876 or email dbernard@AOPAnet.org