Prosthetic Parity in PA

[kathy spozio]

Hi, 

I need the assistance of amputees in Pennsylvania who have experienced
difficulty with limited and/or no prosthetic and/or physical therapy insurance
coverage.  I would like to use personal testimonies (first name only) to present
to Senator Arlen Specter at an open forum on July 3 at Clarion University to
raise his awareness regarding this issue in Pennsylvania.  This information, I
hope, will be a basis to begin work toward a parity law for prosthetic coverage
in Pennsylvania, similar to the Colorado mandate that was successfully passed in
2000 by the Colorado legislature which mandated appropriate levels of insurance
coverage for prosthetics and repair of prosthetic devices.

I will begin my address to the senator with a message based on the statements
below which were suggested as a result of Colorado's success and with the help
of our legal counsel in DC.
Following this statement, I would like to add a few "constituent" stories to
make the issue hit home.


"Is the Senator aware that many (most?) insurance companies only provide one
limb a
lifetime for amputees, including children with cancer, adults with cancer,
diabetes or heart disease that lose a limb, and victims of traumatic
accidents?  Is he aware that companies also cap what they will cover for a
limb, often thousands of dollars less than the actual cost of a prosthetic
leg?  Let him know that Medicare and Veterans provide adequate (excellent?)
benefits in
this regard, but that Medicaid and the insurance industry do not.  Tell him
about the move in a few states to change this situation, but that it is
truly an issue of national importance.  It's one thing when insurance
companies won't pay for a pair of eyeglasses, it's another when they won't
enable a young child with cancer to walk again, or make it possible for an
individual with diabetes to return to work."


Please forward your stories to me directly and I will contact you personally. 

Thanks for your assistance.

Kathy Spozio
LAK, 8/95
NWPA Amputee Support Group
ACA, Board of Directors
mermaid at usachoice.net