MA: Urge Gov. Romney to sign H5256 into law!

We could be just days away from comprehensive coverage for prosthetic care in Massachusetts, but we need your help!

H5256 is a huge step forward in providing access to quality care for people with limb loss in the state of Massachusetts. It mandates that insurance plans provide coverage for prosthetics that equals the coverage provided for such devices under the federal Medicare laws.

What will this bill do?
√ It will ensure that insured, working people can continue working and supporting their families.
√ It will ensure that the tragedy of a child losing a limb is not compounded by forcing that child to spend the rest of their childhood in a wheelchair when help is readily available.
√ It will ensure that people receive care from trained professionals.

H5256 passed on Monday, August 28th, but it is sitting on the governor’s desk. You can help ensure that this bill makes it into law!

TAKE ACTION! Make sure the governor signs H5256 into law by sending an e-mail, letter or fax in support of this important bill! Your support will make a difference!

E-mail: You can send an electronic message by going to http://www.mass.gov/Agovwebmail/WebMailPageControl.ser?level=101.

Fax: (617) 727-9725

Address: Governor Mitt Romney, Office of the Governor, Room 360Boston, MA 02133

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CA: Urge Gov. Schwarzenegger to Support AB 2012!

We could be just days away from comprehensive coverage for orthotic and prosthetic care in California, but we need your help!

Sponsored by Rep. Bill Emmerson, Assembly Bill 2012 mandates that insurance plans that offer coverage for orthotic and prosthetic care must provide full coverage—without caps and co-pays that restrict access to prescribed devices.

AB 2012 also mandates that O&P providers will have met a standard level of competency to fit and furnish these devices and services by being nationally certified.

What will this bill do?
√ It will ensure that insured, working people can continue working and supporting their families.
√ It will ensure that the tragedy of a child losing a limb is not compounded by forcing that child to spend the rest of their childhood in a wheelchair when help is readily available.
√ It will ensure that people receive care from trained professionals.

It looks like the bill will pass in the Senate floor. After that, it will land on the desk of Governor Schwarzenegger’s desk.

As with many bills that reform access to care, that has been opposition. We are concerned this will prompt a veto from the governor, but you can help ensure that this bill makes it into law!

TAKE ACTION! Make sure the governor sign AB 2012 into law by sending an e-mail, letter or fax in support of AB 2012! Your support will make a difference!

E-mail: Go to http://www.govmail.ca.gov. Click on the "supporting" button and in the "choose your subject" pull down menu, choose "other" and it will give you a subject line where you can enter AB 2012 as your subject.

Fax: 916-445-4633

Address: Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, State Capitol Building, Sacramento, CA 95814

SAMPLE LETTER
Dear Governor Schwarzenegger,

I am writing in response to AB 2012, a bill to ensure access to quality orthotic and prosthetic care. Without legislation to ensure coverage, many people living with the loss or absence of a limb are facing discouraging obstacles when trying to obtain prosthetic care. This has a devastating effect on amputees and their families. That is why this bill is so important!

When an individual discovers that prosthetic care is not covered, they may have to resort to using retirement or children's college savings to purchase a prosthesis in order to remain working. Some take mortgages out on their homes, try to get bank loans, and even use a series of high interest credit cards to get the prosthetic limbs they need.

A report put out by the California Health Benefits Review Program (CHBRP) found that the increase in premiums for prosthetic provision would be about 15 cents per month. That is less than $2.00 per year. That is not going to push anyone off the insurance rolls or put anyone out of business. It will, however, get people the care they need to get back to work and live independent, productive lives.

I am writing to urge you to sign AB 2012 into law.

Sincerely,
Name, Address, Phone

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News: Medicare to Delay Payments in September

O&P Edge www.oandp.com

A brief hold will be placed on Medicare payments for all claims during the last nine days of the federal fiscal year September 22-September 30, according to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). These delays are required Section 5203 of the Deficit Reduction Act 0f 2005.
All claims held during this time will be paid on October, 2; no interest will be accrued by reason of this one-time payment hold and no penalties will be paid to an entity or individual due to the hold, CMS explained.

The policy only applies to claims subject to payment; it does not apply to full denials, no-pay claims, and other non-claim payments such as periodic interim payments, home health requests for anticipated payments, and cost report settlements.

Payment will not be staggered and no advance payments will be allowed, CMS added.

For more information, visit www.cms.hhs.gov/MLNMattersARticles/downloads/MM5047.pdf

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NEWSLETTER: New Edition of APPLL Core: Access to Care

Check out the latest edition of our APPLL Core: Access to Care newsletter. Check out the latest edition of our APPLL Core: Access to Care newsletter. Check out the latest edition of our APPLL Core: Access to Care newsletter.

http://www.amputee-coalition.org/appll_access/access-0806.pdf

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OR: Community Information & Organizing Meeting for the Portland area

The Amputee Coalition of America invites you to a community information and organizing meeting to discuss prosthetic parity in Oregon!

Oregonians living with the loss or absence of a limb are facing discouraging obstacles when trying to obtain prosthetic care. Current changes in insurance coverage for prostheses threaten their ability to lead independent, productive lives. This is your opportunity to do something about it.

Join the Amputee Coalition of America in a meeting to discuss pushing for prosthetic coverage in the Oregon state legislature!

WHAT: Oregon Prosthetic Parity Organizing
Date: Sunday, August 27th
Time: 3:30-5 pm
Location: Room 117BC in the Health Education Center (CHEC) at the Legacy Meridian Park Hospital (19300 SW 65th Avenue, Tualatin, Oregon)

Directions: http://www.legacyhealth.org/body.cfm?id=665

Registration is free. For more information or to register, contact us at APPLL@amputee-coalition.org or 202-742-1885.

The Amputee Coalition of America is working with people all over the country to advance prosthetic parity legislation. This meeting is aimed at bringing together people who want to learn about how to fight for prosthetic parity in the state of Oregon.

Goals of the meeting:

I. Raise awareness about prosthetic parity.
II. Identify leaders and activists to help further parity in OR.

Thank you to Forest Sexton, Matt Bradley, Sprague Hanavan and Greg Scott for their help in organizing these meetings!

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NEWS: ACA and Parity Featured in the "O&P Business News"

The latest edition of "The O&P Business News" features an in-depth cover story on the parity issue.

Opening: "In 1998, the landscape of prosthetic coverage under insurance plans was changed in Colorado with the passing of a parity bill allowing coverage of prostheses equivalent to that of the Medicare guidelines. Following Colorado, New Hampshire and Maine passed parity bills. With the passing of these three bills, practitioners, amputees, family members and lobbyists from many states across the country are determined to bring prosthetic coverage to their state. But what most states find is that there is an uphill battle to be fought that requires determination, money, connections and resiliency. Despite this daunting task, it appears that it is only a matter of time before prosthetic parity comes to a state near you."

Read the article: http://www.oandpbiznews.com/issue.asp?option=cover_story&action=a&num=1



Courtesy of "The O&P Business News".

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RI: Rhode Island is the Fourth State to Pass Prosthetic Parity Law

Rhode Island is the Fourth State to Pass Prosthetic Parity Law

Rhode Island has joined Colorado, Maine and New Hampshire in ensuring that people with limb loss will get the care they need to lead productive, independent lives.

On July 7, 2006, Rhode Island became the fourth state to pass prosthetic parity law, a bill to ensure that private health insurance plans will provide medical coverage for orthotic and prosthetic (O&P) devices that equal benefits provided under the federal Medicare program.

In the late 1970s, the Rhode Island General Assembly passed the first prosthetic licensure law in the United States. Nearly 20 years later, William R. Teoli, Certified Prosthetist (CP) and Representative Joanne M. Giannini began working together with patients, legislators, healthcare providers and amputee support groups to raise awareness for legislation that would benefit O&P users through parity.

In 2005, a group of Rhode Island O&P practitioners formed the Rhode Island Society of Orthotists and Prosthetists (RISOP), a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting education and awareness to the community, as well as supporting patient advocacy issues. RISOP immediately began working toward the goal of creating an environment that would provide O&P users with truly comprehensive care.

The Amputee Coalition of America’s (ACA’s) efforts also helped pass the parity bill. ACA contacted the governor’s office, and members sent e-mails, made calls and sent letters.

Now, after a decade of lobbying, dozens of committee hearings and countless hours of work, this goal has been realized. Through the supportive efforts of RISOP, Representative Giannini, many patient advocates and several prominent Rhode Island legislators, a trio of laws has passed unanimously through the General Assembly, which will ensure that O&P users in Rhode Island will be afforded the care, coverage and patient rights that they deserve.

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NEWS: ACA Featured in Newsweek

The ACA was recently mentioned in the "Letters to the Editor" section of Newsweek magazine. Tom Coakley, a member of the ABC board of directors, wrote a letter in response to Ben Mattlin's article about his experiences as a person with disabilities. Ben discusses the idea of inspiration and optimism. Tom's letter cites the ACA's conference as a source of optimism in his own person struggles.
_______________________

Finding Reasons for Optimism

Thank you, Ben Mattlin, for your July 24 my turn article, "It's Just a Wheelchair, Not a Batmobile." Mattlin shares his uncertainties about being seen as an "inspiration" as he contends with progressive neuromuscular disability while confined to a lifetime in a wheelchair. He says he is always able to draw on "an ever-filling well of optimism." On a significantly lesser scale, as an amputee from the Vietnam War, I have often thought much like Mattlin. This my turn arrived just as I returned from the annual Amputee Coalition of America convention, making for a marvelous personal connection of inspiration, optimism and love of life.

Thomas F. Coakley
Canton, N.Y.

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Ghana Passes Disability Rights Bill

By: O&P Edge (www.oandp.com), August 3, 2006

Almost one year after the release of Emmanuel's Gift, an award-winning, inspirational documentary showcasing the hope and vision of disabled athlete Emmanuel Ofosu Yeboah, the Parliament of Ghana has passed the Persons with Disability (PWD) bill.

The bill, which passed June 23, grants the disabled, estimated at ten percent of Ghana's population, the same rights in Ghana's constitution ascribed to the country's able-bodied citizens, according to the Challenged Athletes Foundation (CAF), San Diego, California.

"I am very happy for my disabled brothers and sisters in Ghana," said Yeboah, who was a co-winner of the 2005 ESPN Arthur Ashe Courage Award and the CAF's ambassador to Ghana. "This is just the beginning," Yeboah continued. "Stereotypes and myths about people with disabilities run deep in Ghana, and my dream is to see those things change too. I don't want to see any more disabled people on the streets begging. Instead, they should have the same chance as other people to go to school and earn a decent living."

"This landmark legislation marks a major step forward, given Ghana's history of pervasive discrimination against people with disabilities," said CAF. "Thanks to the courage shown by Emmanuel in refusing to accept the status quo, and the movement born from his quest for change, for the first time in Ghana's history, a society with equal opportunity for all is foreseen." CAF noted that Ghana's PWD legislation, similar to that of the US Americans with Disability Act, and as explained on the Ghana Home Page http://www.ghanaweb.com/, provides persons with disabilities with accessibility to public places, employment, and transportation, along with other rights. Passage of the bill will lead to the creation of PWD desks at employment centers nationwide and also create the National Council on Persons with Disability, which would oversee the implementation of some of the national programs for persons with disabilities. However, the bill has a transitional period, which provides for a ten-year moratorium because of the massive investment needed to make existing public places disability-friendly.

The documentary Emmanuel's Gift is available for purchase through CAF. All proceeds from DVDs sold through CAF will be used to help physically challenged athletes reach their goals, the organization said. Copies of the documentary cost $20 and can be purchased online at http://www.challengedathletes.org/ or by phone at 858.866.0959.

(Editor's Note: More information about Emmanuel Ofosu Yeboah, see "Heroes Take Opportunity for Action" in the October 2005 issue of The O&P EDGE at www.oandp.com/edge/issues/articles/2005-10_09.asp)

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New ACA Web Survey Posted "Do you have secondary conditions?"

With just a few clicks of your mouse, you can help the Amputee Coalition of America (ACA) gather information on the secondary conditions that amputees face.If you are an amputee or a friend or family member of an amputee, please complete the user survey on the bottom left of the ACA homepage (www.amputee-coalition.org).

The data collected from this survey will help the ACA in our programming and publications so that we can better meet your needs!

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