Congressional Action Center

Draft Letter or Email to Congress

Draft Letter to Congress:
Subject: URGENT ACTION NEEDED - Please Cosponsor H.R. 4475/S. 2329, the Medicare Orthotics and Prosthetics Patient-Centered Care Act
 

As your constituent, I am writing to ask that you please consider cosponsoring H.R. 4475/S. 2329, the
Medicare Orthotics and Prosthetics Patient-Centered Care Act. This bipartisan legislation would
greatly benefit the Medicare beneficiaries you represent by ensuring timely access to safe, appropriate,
and effective orthotic and prosthetic (O&P) care provided by qualified clinicians, including certified
and/or licensed orthotists and prosthetists.

H.R. 4475/S. 2329 includes critical provisions designed to improve the Medicare O&P benefit for
patients, providers, and the Medicare program. Specifically, through its three major provisions, the
legislation would:

(1) Reduce waste, fraud, and abuse in the Medicare program by prohibiting “drop shipping” of custom
orthoses and prostheses to Medicare beneficiaries’ homes without providing necessary clinical services;
(2) Exempt appropriately credentialed clinicians from competitive bidding of off-the-shelf (OTS)
orthotics to ensure that Medicare beneficiaries can access the full range of orthotic care from one O&P
practitioner rather than requiring patients to visit multiple providers when the treating orthotist or
prosthetist does not have a competitive bidding contract; and
(3) Ensure Medicare beneficiaries have timely access to replacement custom-fitted and custom-
fabricated orthoses, just like prosthetic limbs.
 

Independent financial analysis suggests this bill can save the Medicare program money over ten years,
approximately $60 million.
 

I strongly support these important patient protections and encourage you to cosponsor H.R. 4475/S.
2329, and to work with your leadership and Committee leaders to enact this important legislation into
law as soon as practicable.
 

Thank you for your thoughtful consideration of this important issue and for standing with Medicare
beneficiaries and the O&P providers who serve them.