A group of New York-area prosthetists are taking a stand to raise awareness about the inadequacy of the “one prosthesis per lifetime” policy enforced among many third-party payors. The group has established an online petition at www.onelimbforlife.com to collect names that will be presented to New York legislators as part of an effort to change the policy.
Spearheading the group is Progressive O&P, Albertson, NY. A recent media release issued by Progressive O&P states that the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was supposed to prohibit yearly or lifetime caps on Essential health Benefits, though it notes children are exempt from the caps. Adults, however, continue to be subject to the limitation, and since more than 90% of amputations performed in New York were on adults at least 45 years of age, the effects of the restriction are widespread among the state’s amputees, according to the media release.
The group of prosthetists, community activists, and leadership of several disability and amputee associations reportedly gathered their efforts to operationalize the petition, which has collected the names of more than 5,000 people after 2 weeks of posting.
Dan Bastian, co-owner of Progressive O&P Inc, certified prosthetist and amputee, has been helping to organize the petition as well as personally meet with New York state legislators to bring this issue to their attention. “I wouldn’t be able to run my business, employ all these people, and coach my kid’s teams if I was limited to the first prosthetic I received,” Bastian notes in the company’s media release.
The petition is available online at www.onelimborlife.com
[Source: Progressive O&P]
