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Prosthetic community rallies

Prosthetic community rallies

BALTIMORE - Hundreds of amputees and prosthetic stakeholders converged on CMS Wednesday to protest drastic proposed changes to the local coverage determinations for lower limb prostheses.

About 300 people attended a public comment hearing, hosted this morning by the four DME MACS, with another 400 calling in.

“What we (as health care providers) want...is the ability to prescribe the right device for the right patient and do that at the right time and make sure that they do reach the full potential that they have,” said Dr. Marlis Gonzalez-Hernandez, medical director of Outpatient Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Clinics for Johns Hopkins Hospital, according to an article on healio.com.

After the hearing, protesters held a rally in front of the Health & Human Services building, holding signs that read “Get your hands off my legs,” and “Honk if you like your limbs. We do too!”

The rally is the latest in a groundswell of support that has grown since the draft LCDs were released in July. A petition calling on the White House to rescind them has garnered more than 107,000 signatures.

The deadline to submit comments to CMS on the proposed changes is Aug. 31.

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