Healthcare Reform & People with Limb Loss

The ACA submitted comments regarding the Senate Finance Committee’s set of recommendations regarding policy options for health care coverage contained in the document Expanding Health Care Coverage: Proposals to Provide Affordable Coverage to All Americans. In summary, the ACA is supportive of the recommendations regarding individual and small group market reform. These improvements to the private health insurance market will have significant positive implications on the ability of all Americans to access affordable health insurance regardless of their health status. We also strongly support the recommendations regarding Medicaid, including recommendations that serve to eliminate the two year waiting period for disability coverage and inclusion of disability status as a category for purposes of measuring health disparities.

The ACA is deeply concerned, however, with the limited scope of the benefit package that would be available under the Health Insurance Exchange. Based on the document released by the Committee, there is a complete absence of any benefits related to rehabilitation therapies and related services (in both the inpatient and outpatient settings) as well as durable medical equipment, orthotics, prosthetics (DMEPOS) and other assistive devices.

Click here to read the ACA’s comments to the Expanding Health Care Coverage: Proposals to Provide Affordable Coverage to All Americans proposal.