Senate Introduces S. 2556: Medicare O&P Patient-Centered Care Act

The Medicare Orthotics and Prosthetics Patient-Centered Care Act has been introduced in the United States Senate and referred to the Senate Committee on Finance.  This is companion legislation to H.R. 1990, an identical bill in the U.S. House.  Both bills are bipartisan with the Senate bill being introduced by six original sponsors of the legislation, including:

1. Senator Mark Warner, a Democrat from Virginia who serves on the Finance Committee;

2. Steve Daines (R-MT), also a Finance Committee member;

3. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), a champion of the O&P profession and prosthetic user;

4. John Cornyn (R-TX), a senior Republican on the Finance Committee;

5. Bill Cassidy (R-LA), a physician on the Finance Committee, and

6. Charles Grassley (R-IA), former Chairman of the Finance Committee and long-time champion of O&P legislation.

The bill would accomplish four key priorities for the orthotic and prosthetic profession:

1. Distinguishes durable medical equipment (DME) from clinical O&P care

2. Limits the definition of “off-the-shelf” (or “OTS”) orthotics to devices that truly require only “minimal self-adjustment” by the beneficiary only

3. Bans drop-shipping to patients of custom fit and custom fabricated orthoses and prostheses to ensure access to clinical care, and

4. Exempts licensed and certified O&P practitioners from OTS competitive bidding, treating them similarly to physicians and therapists by allowing them to provide OTS orthoses to their patients without a contract at the competitive bidding rate.

Now we need YOUR help to build support for this legislation.  Please visit our action page to easily email your Senators and ASK THEM TO COSPONSOR THIS BILL simply by filling in your contact information and selecting your Senators. We urge you to take the time to customize your message to inform your Senator how this bill impacts you and your colleagues in the state.

If you have not contacted your Congressman, please take this opportunity to also reach out to that office and encourage them to cosponsor companion legislation in the House, H.R. 1990.  You can identify your Congressmen, Senators, and learn how to easily communicate with them at www.NAAOP.org.

NAAOP thanks the American Orthotic and Prosthetic Association (AOPA) for its efforts in getting this bill introduced in the Senate.  We also thank our O&P Alliance partners for their support of this important bill.

Finally, thank you for your continued support of NAAOP and policies to advance the O&P community!