Tag: AOPA

WASHINGTON – O&P practitioners have renewed their push to be recognized as clinicians – a distinction they say is critical now more than ever to ensure access to care.  While stakeholders have long fought for this, the COVID-19 pandemic has emphasized the need for it, says Justin Beland, director of government affairs for the American Orthotic and Prosthetic Association, because only certain clinicians have been able to get reimbursed for telehealth...

WASHINGTON - The single payment amounts for off-the-shelf knee and back braces under Round 2021 of competitive bidding will be about 30% to 35%, on average, below Medicare's current fee schedule, based on a preliminary analysis by the American Orthotic & Prosthetic Association. The reductions aren't necessarily a surprise, stakeholders say, but they have new meaning during a public health emergency. “The COVID environment business conditions are not anything like what they were when bids were...

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 - The COVID-19 pandemic has shed new light on the ways in which grouping orthotists and prosthetists with other DME suppliers “handcuffs” them as medical practitioners, say stakeholders.“Every other medical profession is doing more telehealth, including OTs and PTs, and (being considered a supplier) is handcuffing us on being able to bill for telehealth,” said Justin Beland, director of government relations for the American Orthotic and Prosthetic Association.“I...

WASHINGTON - A bill that seeks to differentiate orthotics and prosthetics from durable medical equipment was recently introduced in the Senate.The Medicare Orthotics and Prosthetics Patient-Centered Care Act (S. 4503), sponsored by Sens. Mark R. Warner, D-Va., Steve Daines, R-Mont., Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., John Cornyn, R-Texas, and Bill Cassidy, R-La., is a companion bill to H.R. 5262, introduced in November by Rep. Mike Thompson, D-Calif..The bill has four key provisions:Create separate statutory...

WASHINGTON - O&P stakeholders plan to use a recent massive fraud takedown involving medically unnecessary knee and back braces to advance upcoming legislation.The American Orthotic & Prosthetic Association has been trying to get legislation passed for several years that would curb fraud and abuse, and improve access to clinically appropriate care for beneficiaries.“It's great to see this first wave of charges,” said Todd Eagen, president of the Orthotic Prosthetic Group of America. “I...

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 - HME industry champion Cathy McMorris Rodgers has released a congressional sign-on letter to CMS, HHS and OMB asking for additional relief for HME as part of the proposed rule currently under consideration, according to AAHomecare.Rep. Rodgers, R-Wash., encourages stakeholders to ask their members in the House of Representatives to sign on to the letter before it closes on Friday, Sept. 28.The letter expresses support for CMS's plans to suspend competitive bidding while it makes changes...

WASHINGTON - Although industry stakeholders disagree with a recent MedPAC recommendation to include off-the-shelf orthotics in Medicare's competitive bidding program, a recent report by the commission is, overall, on point, they say.“It's obvious the bid program is still a threat,” Todd Eagen, president of the Orthotic Prosthetic Group of America. “But there is some good news in the report and some continued educational efforts that our community needs to continue to focus on.”MedPAC's...

WASHINGTON - The DME MACs are retiring the “Dear Physician” letter for artificial limbs, according to a bulletin from the American Orthotics & Prosthetics Association. The letter is being retired following recently passed legislation that requires the recognition of the prosthetists' notes as part of the patient's medical record. The letter, originally published in 2011, dramatically changed the standards for approving a prosthetic claim by disregarding the prosthetist's notes as part...