Apr 1, 2026
NAAOP is pleased to welcome Madison McGuire to NAAOP as Executive Manager. Madison will work with NAAOP General Counsel, Peter Thomas, and NAAOP President, Nate Kapa, CP, during the transition period after George Breece’s retirement. Madison has been hard at work transitioning the office to Washington, DC, engaging membership, and pursuing day-to-day priorities. She is a recent graduate of Villanova University and is available to respond to questions and concerns at Madison.McGuire@NAAOP.org. Please join me in welcoming Madison to NAAOP.
NAAOP Issues 2026 Strategic Action Plan: After NAAOP board discussion and approval, NAAOP has issued its Strategic Action Plan for 2026. Of the multiple O&P policy priorities and Association objectives in the plan, fighting fraud and abuse continues to be among the highest priorities. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (“CMS ”) is pursuing simultaneously multiple policies to reduce fraud and abuse, especially in the DMEPOS benefit. Off-the-shelf (“OTS”) orthotics is one area that has received particular scrutiny. Recently, NAAOP joined with its O&P Alliance partners in responding to Request for Information from CMS seeking additional ways to combat fraud and abuse. The response included the following policies, long-standing priorities of NAAOP and the O&P Alliance:
1. Ban Drop Shipping: CMS could either support passage of the Medicare O&P Patient-Centered Care Act (H.R. 4475; S. 2329) or use its own authority to implement two of its key provisions, including a ban of reimbursement for custom orthotics and prosthetics—not including OTS orthotics—that are “drop shipped” to patient’s homes, bypassing the clinical care required for high quality O&P. This provision would protect most orthotic braces and all prosthetic limbs against fraud and abuse from unscrupulous providers.
2. Exempt O&P Professionals from Competitive Bidding: As part of the same legislation, CMS could either support Congressional passage of, or use its regulatory authority to, exempt certified and/or licensed O&P practitioners from Medicare competitive bidding. This would place O&P professionals on par with therapists and physicians, allowing all of these providers to serve their patients at the point of service without a competitive bidding contract, but would reimburse them at the competitively bid rate in that geographic area. This provision would not cost the federal government a dime to implement and would help ensure patient access to high quality care under the OTS orthotic competitive bidding program.
3. Implement BIPA Section 427: CMS should finally implement Section 427 of the Benefits Improvement and Protection Act of 2000 (“BIPA”), federal legislation enacted 26 years ago but never implemented by CMS. This law bans Medicare payment to a provider or supplier of custom fabricated orthotics or prosthetics who is not “qualified” to provide O&P care. The qualifications are laid out in the provision’s language. Implementation of this law would reduce fraud and abuse in the Medicare O&P benefit while helping to ensure high quality patient care. NAAOP will continue its efforts with the O&P Alliance to convince CMS to implement this provision as soon as practicable.