Where Is ACA?

[Wayne Renardson]

From: tbar at gate.net [mailto:tbar at gate.net] [Anthony Barr]
Sent: Monday, August 18, 2003 11:54 AM
To: amp-l at u.washington.edu
Subject: FW: Where Is ACA

Some info previously provided while we are revisiting the ongoing 
conflict of close industry ties with "our" national patient/consumer 
organization, the ACA.    

That is all fine and well (comments below), but the reality is the 
ACA's mission statement is to advocate. To advocate is to advocate.  
If their mission statement is an illusion, then say so and we will go 
on to another possible source of influence and support for reform.    

ACA, as the national amputee organization, I would hope would be a 
viable resource to address, initiate, and support issues and 
legislative initiatives that may generate proper and affordable 
prosthetic coverage to all amputees.    

Such issues would include mandatory insurance coverage for 
prosthetics, minimum educational requirements for the providers of 
custom O&P services, etc. Presently there are too many amputees that 
fall thru the cracks for coverage who end up in the hands of 
unqualified providers!    

Our organization funded prosthetic rehabilitation to a lady who had 
previously sold her car to pay for a prosthesis that was made in a 
van parked for the day in her driveway. She did not have the very low 
income required by Medicaid, and she was too young for Medicare.     
An employed person whose income is above the poverty level usually 
does not qualify for Medicaid but their children may if they have no 
other health insurance. Read Esther L's AMP-L post from 7-3-01.   

There is a growing consensus that ACA is influenced by O&P 
manufacturers and ACA generates major revenue from advertising in 
their publications 'In_Motion' and 'First Step' not to initiate or 
support real advocacy issues and reform legislation.    

This advertising income represents a substantial portion of  their 
$900,000 annual income, which is the amount listed as income outside 
of present annual federal grants of  an additional $1.4 million.   

That's a total income and budget of $2.3 million.

I would rather believe, as an ACA life-time member and supporter of 
their other functions, that this is not the case.  

A subscriber recently shared with me something I believe is becoming 
very relevant.   

Fifteen years ago there was the perception in the UK that the 
companies who provide O&P services were on easy street. The 
government took a long hard look and brought in a horrific system of 
competitive tendering (bidding) for service provision.   

This bidding is proposed presently in the USA. The application in the 
UK, however, drove prices down, but it left the O&P practitioners 
with an income range similar to US based providers---down and out!   

The same beginnings are now going on in the US. 

I would suggest that the O&P profession and consumers: i.e. 
individuals, support groups, and organizations, collaborate and look 
at reform and efficiency BEFORE these competitive bidding proposals 
are imposed from the outside. It will benefit professionals, the 
industry, and consumers in the long run.   

My plea to ACA , the profession and industry is merely an extension 
of this philosophy.   

Tony Barr

Original Message -----
From: Mike Dalton
To: Amputee Information Network
Sent: Thursday, July 05, 2001 12:52 PM
Subject: Re:ACA Mission:

I'm not real clear on a lot of things but definitely not clear on 
what it is everyone is saying the ACA is not doing as per their 
mission statement...Advocate means to plead in favor of...are they 
not doing that? Here in Virginia we have had nothing but great 
assistance from them as far as education and support and 
dissemination of information. Mike  

ACA Mission: To reach out to people with limb loss, to empower them 
through education and support, to ADVOCATE on their behalf, and to 
develop and disseminate the resources to accomplish this.