Over 150 Amps Converge on Capitol Hill

 

Monday, Mar 16,2009, 12:21:32 PM   Click:

26 February 2009 - Published in the insurance, dental insurance, disability insurance, financial services, general insurance, health insurance, online insurance, liability insurance, life insurance, for animals, property insurance, reinsurance, pension
On 10 March, the Amputee Coalition of America has more than 150 amputees from across the country, in Washington, DC, urging members of Congress to support the fair insurance coverage for the arms and leg joints.

"Insurance companies are too limited reimbursement or prosthetic arms and legs summarily elected not to cover them all," said Kendra Calhoun, Amputee Coalition President and CEO. "We have the intend to make this trend, and our Lobby Day is an excellent example of popular support, we have across the country to do so. The arms and legs are not luxury items. Mobility is a serious problem for amputees who want to keep their jobs, take care of their families and live a healthy, active living. "

Amputees and their families make the trip to Washington, DC, to tell lawmakers that they must have their own "rescue". Although the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, the Ministry of Defense, Workers' Compensation insurance, Medicare, Medicaid, State Children 's Health Insurance Program (Schip), and even the Congress of insurance Health covers prosthetic devices and orthotics, a growing number of groups and private insurance companies to cap so low that the average working family can not afford adequate prosthetic care.

"Even if the average adult needs an amputee prosthetic replacement every five years and the children even more often," said Calhoun, "some insurance companies providing coverage for a single prosthesis by the duration life or eliminate coverage. "

These practices pose serious problems especially for families of children with members of loss. Evan Light Take, for example. At 8, it is already on its fifth pair of prosthetic legs, and the last pair alone cost over $ 20,000. Until the legislators in his State of Indiana has taken steps, prostheses of its profit under the family insurance plan is only $ 4000.

"The families like Evan's are essentially penalized $ 20,000 or more because their children grew and their arm or a leg not responding," said Calhoun. "Even for older adults, it is absurd to expect they use a single prosthesis in their lifetime. No one would expect a person to wear a single pair of shoes of their entire life, and prostheses should not be different. "

"The legislation we are seeking support to ensure that children like Evan have access to arms and legs that the active and productive at home and at school," said Evan's father, Randy , who plans to participate in Lobby Day with her son in support of the legislation.

Senators Olympia Snowe (R-ME) and Tom Harkin (D-IA) and Representatives Robert Andrews (D-NJ) and George Miller (D-CA) are the main sponsors of the bill, called Orthotic Prosthetic Parity and law. This bill would require employer health plans provide coverage for prosthetics and orthotics and custom-made devices associated with coverage for medical and surgical services.

"People pay their health insurance premiums monthly and expect their coverage to take care of catastrophic situations like losing a member," said Calhoun. "This is the reason why people purchase health insurance. No American should be forced to continue using a device that is not responding or is broken."

The statistics compiled by the Amputee Coalition said that the adoption of a law that ensures a fair coverage of prostheses for people will return to work and to ensure that there is no cost to switch to programs government for coverage. The data also indicate that the proposed legislation would cost less than 60 cents per member per month in insurance premiums.

Currently, 11 states - Colorado, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, California, Oregon, New Jersey, Indiana, Vermont and Louisiana - have passed laws that ensure fair coverage of prosthetic devices, and more than 30 States have laws which are at various stages in their state capitals.

"These laws have helped many people, but they are not enough," said Morgan Sheets, the Amputee Coalition of National Outreach Director, who directs the activities of the Lobby Day. "Without a federal law, there will always be amputees who fall through the cracks. "

Lorenzo Smith, whose right leg was amputated when he was 12, did just that. His mother, Albertha Jackson-Smith, vividly recalls the tragic day, she had to explain to his young son that he could not have an artificial leg, as the family of the insurance would not cover it.

"We fight for people like Lorenzo Smith, Evan Light, and even for those who are unaware of their lack of coverage, but it's an uphill battle," said Sheets. "Insurance companies have a powerful voice. The Amputee Coalition of Citizens and its lobbyists are like David taking on Goliath. However, we hope that our representatives in Congress will be the logic of our claims and do what is right . This year they will have an opportunity to help us achieve a great victory for American families. "

The Amputee Coalition, based in Knoxville, Tennessee, is a nonprofit organization that enables people who have experienced amputation or are born with limb differences through education, support and advocacy.