The National Association for the Advancement of Orthotics and Prosthetics recently issued a response to an initial reply by the White House to the association’s “We the People” petition.
The petition, spearheaded by the National Association for the Advancement of Orthotics and Prosthetics (NAAOP), requested President Barack Obama rescind the Medicare Local Coverage Determination (LCD) for Lower Limb Prostheses proposal. The LCD draft was released by the four Durable Medical Equipment Medicare Administrative Contractors (DME MACs) in August.
According to a press release from the NAAOP, the White House reply to the petition states: “HHS has met with stakeholders on this important issue and both CMS and its contractors understand the questions that have been raised about access to the right prosthetic care — including related technologies — for Medicare beneficiaries.”
The reply continues, “CMS wants to make clear that they’re committed to providing high-quality care to all Medicare beneficiaries.”
The White House will reportedly provide an update to its reply at an undetermined time.
“While we would have preferred a final answer instructing the DME MACs to rescind the draft LCD, we are encouraged that the White House recognized the need to publicly respond and provide this initial update,” Peter W. Thomas, JD, NAAOP general counsel, stated in the release. “NAAOP will continue to work with CMS and the White House, and press the issue by educating legislators and government officials to achieve the outcome both Medicare beneficiaries with limb loss and privately insured amputees in the United States deserve.”
David McGill, JD, NAAOP president, expressed “disappointment” about the response to the petition, which garnered more than 100,000 signatures in 17 days. In addition, he noted, members of the O&P community submitted thousands of comments on the draft and brought a strong showing to the public comment meeting on the LCD draft.
However, he stated in the release, “we take CMS at its word that they understand the concerns we have raised and look forward to working with them to achieve a good outcome for patients, their families and the providers who serve them.”
The White House response is available at https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/response/initial-response-your-petition-medicare-local-coverage-determination.
Reference: www.NAAOP.org.
