Tag: American Orthotic and Prosthetic Association

WASHINGTON – While CMS has not officially released it, the 2022 O&P Medicare fee schedule is expected to increase by 5.1%, according the American Orthotic and Prosthetic Association.  That is larger than any annual Medicare increase in the last 30 years, says AOPA.  The annual increase to the Medicare O&P fee schedule is based on the annual change to the Consumer Pricing Index for all urban areas (CPI-U) from June to the same month the previous year, adjusted by an annual productivity...

Ashlie White isn’t an O&P clinician but, as the daughter of a prosthetist, she grew up in the profession. After beginning a career in documentary work and journalism, she went to work at her family’s O&P clinic, eventually landing at the American Orthotic and Prosthetic Association, where she serves as director of health policy and strategic alliances.  “I was always called back to the patient advocacy of the work,” she said. “The exposure to the change that...

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – The American Orthotic and Prosthetic Association expects a companion bill to H.R. 1990 to be introduced in the Senate soon. The bill includes provisions that would prohibit the use of drop shipping to deliver orthoses that are not specifically designated as off-the-shelf orthoses. AOPA believes the bills, if passed, would go a long way to curb fraud and abuse through the delivery of medically unnecessary orthoses to Medicare beneficiaries. “AOPA remains...

ALEXANDRIA, Va. ­- The American Orthotic and Prosthetic Association has partnered with the Amputee Coalition to provide its members more resources to serve their patients. AOPA members will now be considered Amputee Coalition Partners and will be listed on the coalition's website as such. AOPA members will also receive materials to distribute, including: inMotion magazine; First Step: A Guide to Adapting to Limb Loss; and brochures for dealing with limb loss. AOPA members will receive a packet with...

WASHINGTON - O&P stakeholders are eyeing a pair of possible legislative vehicles as they seek to pass a bill that would improve patient care and reduce fraud. The American Orthotic and Prosthetic Association has been working with lawmakers to fit their bill into either drug pricing legislation or the Cures 2.0 initiative, says Justin Beland, director of government relations.“We're confident that one of those two vehicles will give our bill a ride,” he said.H.R. 5262, the Medicare Orthotics...

ALEXANDRIA, Va. - The American Orthotic and Prosthetic Association has named Eve Humphreys as executive director effective Nov. 19. Humphreys, currently the executive director for the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America, has more than two decades of experience navigating legislative and regulatory advocacy, working with volunteer and society leaders to create policy and position statements, practice guidelines, and continuing medical education content to advance organizations and industries,...

WASHINGTON - A proposal to “explode” the code for custom therapeutic inserts has raised eyebrows among stakeholders who say it's unnecessary.In a Special Open Door Forum Nov. 28, CMS officials outlined plans to revise the DMEPOS Quality Standards for custom fabricated inserts to account for advances in technology that allow them to be direct milled using computer assisted software. However, because the technology is so different, the inserts must be billed under a new code, rather than...

WASHINGTON - The American Orthotic and Prosthetic Association has submitted comments on a proposal to provide individual states with increased flexibility to define essential health benefits. In its comments on the “Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act; HHS Notice of Benefit and Payment Parameters for 2019”, AOPA reiterated its position that orthoses and prostheses must remain essential health benefits and that any action by CMS to restrict or reduce access to O&P services is not...

ARLINGTON, Va. - The American Orthotic and Prosthetic Association has sent a letter to Peformant Recovery expressing concern that the national RAC contractor was not in compliance with its statement of work when it announced an automated review for L5845. In the April 28 letter, AOPA President Michael Oros outlines the criteria required to initiate such a review and asks for the review to be rescinded. Performant has not issued a formal response, but the announcement has been removed from its website,...