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Prosthetic Parity Bill Introduced in Senate
SB3517 would require employer-paid health insurance to treat coverage of
prosthetic care and devices on par with other essential medical care devices
covered by health insurance.
September 22, 2008
Prosthetic Parity Bill Introduced in Senate
Legislation has been introduced in the Senate that would require group
health plans to provide parity in coverage benefits for prosthetic devices
for amputees.
SB3517, introduced Friday by Sens. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, and Tom Harkin,
D-Iowa, would require employer-paid health insurance to treat coverage of
prosthetic care and devices on par with other essential medical care devices
covered by health insurance.
"It does not mandate coverage, but it does assure that when it is offered it
is not so restricted or capped that it does not assure an amputee of the
prosthetic care they require," Snowe said in a statement.
A similar bill, HR5615, was introduced in the House of Representatives in
March by Rep. Robert Andrews, D-N.J., with bipartisan support. The measure
prevents group health plans from imposing any annual or lifetime dollar
limits on benefits for prosthetic devices and components, unless such limits
apply in the aggregate to all medical and surgical benefits. The House bill
has not been acted on.
Coverage for prostheses varies widely, and a growing number of insurers are
limiting coverage by imposing low dollar caps and restrictions, according to
Amputee Coalition of America, the Knoxville, Tenn.-based advocacy group that
has championed the legislation. Approximately 2 million individuals are
affected by limb loss, the coalition says.
Prosthetic-parity measures have passed in 11 states, most recently Louisiana
and Vermont.
Filed by Colleen McCarthy of Business Insurance, a sister publication of
Workforce Management.