Tag: Prosthetics
OPGA, Össur name award recipients
March 12, 2024HME News Staff
WATERLOO, Iowa - OPGA and Össur Americas have named Matthew Jones as the 2024 recipient of the Russell Walker CP, LP Emerging Leader Grant, and Kelley Berk as the 2024 recipient of the Todd Eagen Advocacy in Action Memorial Grant. “On behalf of Össur and OPGA, we are privileged to announce Matthew and Kelley as the recipients of these two grants that will provide professional development opportunities for the future leaders of O&P while memorializing the impact that Rusty Walker and...
Proposal increases access to ‘technological leap forward’
February 16, 2024Theresa Flaherty, Managing Editor
WASHINGTON – O&P stakeholders hailed a new proposal by CMS to expand coverage of microprocessor-controlled knees for certain K2 patients, something they say is long overdue.
Under the proposed changes, the agency will no longer limit the technology to patients classified as K3 and above.
“When this technology first came about in the in the 90s, it was really marketed and touted as kind of like the next technological leap forward for patients,” said Joe McTernan,...
OPGA, Össur open application period for grants
January 22, 2024HME News Staff
WATERLOO, Iowa – The Orthotic Prosthetic Group of America (OPGA) and Össur have opened the application period for two grants available to U.S.-based O&P professionals. The two grants: The Russell Walker CP, LP Emerging Leader Grant, now in its third year, is designed to pay tribute to Russell (Rusty) Walker, a practitioner who was passionate about mentoring the next generation of O&P leaders; and the Todd Eagen Advocacy in Action Memorial Grant, now in its second year, is named after Todd...
LTA could be game changer for O&P
November 13, 2023John Andrews
The orthotics and prosthetics market received a positive boost from the passage of the Lymphedema Treatment Act (LTA) earlier this year and field specialists are optimistic it will benefit providers and patients.
Set to go into effect Jan. 1, 2024, the LTA allows for consistent Medicare coverage and reimbursement for compression garments and supplies for patients living with lymphedema. This new law could be a game changer for the industry, said Matthew Gruskin, COO for Owings Mills, Md.-based...
Nikki Grace-Strader on not wasting any time
September 29, 2023Theresa Flaherty, Managing Editor
YARMOUTH, Maine – O&P Woman of the Year Nikki Grace-Strader wears a lot of hats at Osseointegration International, but chief among them is educating patients and clinicians about osseointegration, a procedure that enabled her to walk again.
When Grace-Strader lost a leg several years after due to a spinal cord injury, she eventually underwent OI to directly connect a prosthesis to the end of her residual limb.
“I became really passionate about exploring options for patients who...
OPGA supports ‘So Every BODY Can Move’ relay
August 25, 2023HME News Staff
WATERLOO, Iowa – The Orthotic and Prosthetic Group of America (OPGA) has announced its support for "So Every BODY Can Move," an organization dedicated to ensuring individuals with limb loss and limb difference can access life-changing prosthetic and orthotic care. Through a series of state-by-state legislative actions, "So Every BODY Can Move" is working to expand access to these essential medical services, enabling everyone to enjoy the benefits of physical activity. To show its support, OPGA...
Lawmakers seek to address fraud in O&P
June 27, 2023HME News Staff
WASHINGTON – A bi-partisan group in the House of Representatives has introduced a bill that would prohibit “drop shipping” of custom orthoses and protheses to Medicare beneficiaries.
H.R. 4315, the Medicare Orthotics and Prosthetics Patient-Centered Care Act, would also:
Ensure Medicare beneficiaries can access the full range of orthotic care from one O&P practitioner, rather than requiring them to visit multiple providers when the treating orthotist or...
OPGA seeks Woman of the Year
June 19, 2023HME News Staff
WATERLOO, Iowa – The Orthotic and Prosthetic Group of America has opened the nomination period for the 2023 O&P Woman of the Year Award. Nominators are encouraged to provide examples of how the nominee has made significant contributions throughout her career to serve her patients, the community, business and the O&P profession. “Now in the seventh year, we are thrilled to continue recognizing the outstanding women in the O&P profession with the O&P Woman of the Year Award,”...
OPGA members receive discounts
February 14, 2023HME News Staff
WATERLOO, Iowa – OPGA, PEL and PVA Med have announced a three-party marketing and distribution agreement to make certain products and accessories available for purchase through PEL and PVBA Med. Per the agreement, OPGA members receive exclusive member discounts on the Emergence PRO 3D Printer and Carver PRO-S packages. "This agreement is another example of OPGA members receiving exclusive discounts on technology solutions that help them improve productivity and profit," said Adam Miller, president,...
JAS agrees to settle false claims violation
February 6, 2023HME News Staff
RALEIGH, N.C. - Joint Active Systems, a manufacturer of range-of-motion devices based in Effingham, Ill., has agreed to pay $500,000 to settle civil claims under the federal and North Carolina False Claims Acts concerning allegations the company caused submission of false claims to the North Carolina Medicaid program for certain DME. Specifically, the United States and the state of North Carolina alleged that from Jan. 6, 2012, through January 29, 2021, JAS was unable to directly bill North Carolina...