US Politics and BOC/ ABC Professionals
Tony Barr
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Collection
Title:
US Politics and BOC/ ABC Professionals
Creator:
Tony Barr
Text:
Lane,Jake,Morris,Wayne,Kevin,Wade,Evan,John etc.
I have taken the liberty of answering your indivisual question of how practitioners may proceed to help stop or reduce the proposed $500 million reductions in Medicare O&P benefits over the next five years.
It seems to be a popular question so I have cc my suggestions to the O&P Listserve.
Please contact your professional association leaders and TELL them to support Congressman's Robert Wexler's legislative bill establishing educational guidelines for practitioners providing custom O&P services.They have not gained any ground in the past year and are quickly loosing more.
I believe, as do many practitioners, that it is essential to mandate the highest qualifications possible to their practitioners.
The national office proposed new AAOP consolidation effort if passed, would allow BOC members to their ranks. Non-voting members initially,but they too will evolve into voting members once they have been deemed qualified.
The issue in Florida,where the recent IAOP meeting was held, is no longer a question of a what type of certification one holds but rather that of a professional's qualifications that the consumer and the O&P practitioners deserves as a valid health care provider. Florida has already generated increased O&P benefits thru expanded Medicaid O&P benefits for adults as a direct result of successfull regulation.
If the health care industry and HMO's were not bidded on nationally, perhaps Florida private insurers would have also reevaluated proper O&P coverages with the introduction of regulation and accountability of O&P services.
My message is not meant to alienate but to unite all qualified practitoners.In correct information has been dissemenated to many regarding regulation and federal reform efforts.
I stressed the importance for all qualified practitioners,of any alphabet soup certification,to now take the credentilalling concept to the next level, by supporting state by state licensure and more eminant,to eradicate fraud and abuse at the federal level by encouraging the federal government to develop and pass legislation requiring federal standards for practitioners seeking reimbursement from medicare for custom O&P services.
My message is not to alienate BOC or ABC, but to unite do what is right for the consumer.
What is good for the consumer will be good for the profession.
Many support state regulation and the need to establish proper educational standards for medicare as ways to trigger accountability to the profession and bring to the attention of lawmakers and reimbursers as to what constitutes a high level of O&P services and the reimbursement requirements to provide such a high level of service. Without these standards in place,pleas of increased coverage fall on deaf ears.The word proper is where we are all having the problem. Are ABC OR BOC proper educational standards??
Granted current ABC certification guidelines are the most stringent. But it does not equate to exclusivity to quality O&P care.
If we were to implement and mandate the CAAHEP standards today , how many ABC practitioners would be fully in compliance!? The professional membership organizations of BOC and ABC need to come to agreement and present realistic federal reform policy parameters and grandfathering solutions to lawmakers of what proper educational standards are.
The professional ( ABC and BOC), must unite as professionals and consolidate their efforts as recognized health care providers in order to educate private and government reimbursers as to what constitutes fair coverage.
First you must demand adequate standards for yourselves as equals.
While each are arguing qualification superiority and equality, the federal government continues to wack away O&P coverages in an effort to penalize a unregulated industry and to assure reduction in the fraud and abuse of O&P services.
Fraud and abuse created by non-professional entities.
The profession and the consumer suffers and continues to get the short end of benefits.What's worse is the honorable profession of O&P gets a bad rap and image.One might ask who are the culperts of O&P fraud and abuse?What associations do they belong to?
I hope that this has better explained my position.The enemy is not AOPA,AAOP,IAOP, NAAOP,BOC or ABC.
The enemy is the failure of the leadership of these organizations to unilaterally present and support meaningfull O&P health care reform policies with federal standards.
Policies that will benefit the consumer , better assure their rehabilitation and improve the image of the profession.
In my humble opinion, the trade association of a unregulated industry cannot realistically and effectively lead the charge for serious meaninfull legislative reform. Such an effort is not professionally or consumer driven and could be identified as self serving and profit motivated.
Contact your professional organization's leaders and ask them to support establishing manatory federal guidelines for medicare reimbursed O&P services.Contact Eva Cargill at Congressman Wexler's office and offer your support .202-225-3001
Tony Barr
I have taken the liberty of answering your indivisual question of how practitioners may proceed to help stop or reduce the proposed $500 million reductions in Medicare O&P benefits over the next five years.
It seems to be a popular question so I have cc my suggestions to the O&P Listserve.
Please contact your professional association leaders and TELL them to support Congressman's Robert Wexler's legislative bill establishing educational guidelines for practitioners providing custom O&P services.They have not gained any ground in the past year and are quickly loosing more.
I believe, as do many practitioners, that it is essential to mandate the highest qualifications possible to their practitioners.
The national office proposed new AAOP consolidation effort if passed, would allow BOC members to their ranks. Non-voting members initially,but they too will evolve into voting members once they have been deemed qualified.
The issue in Florida,where the recent IAOP meeting was held, is no longer a question of a what type of certification one holds but rather that of a professional's qualifications that the consumer and the O&P practitioners deserves as a valid health care provider. Florida has already generated increased O&P benefits thru expanded Medicaid O&P benefits for adults as a direct result of successfull regulation.
If the health care industry and HMO's were not bidded on nationally, perhaps Florida private insurers would have also reevaluated proper O&P coverages with the introduction of regulation and accountability of O&P services.
My message is not meant to alienate but to unite all qualified practitoners.In correct information has been dissemenated to many regarding regulation and federal reform efforts.
I stressed the importance for all qualified practitioners,of any alphabet soup certification,to now take the credentilalling concept to the next level, by supporting state by state licensure and more eminant,to eradicate fraud and abuse at the federal level by encouraging the federal government to develop and pass legislation requiring federal standards for practitioners seeking reimbursement from medicare for custom O&P services.
My message is not to alienate BOC or ABC, but to unite do what is right for the consumer.
What is good for the consumer will be good for the profession.
Many support state regulation and the need to establish proper educational standards for medicare as ways to trigger accountability to the profession and bring to the attention of lawmakers and reimbursers as to what constitutes a high level of O&P services and the reimbursement requirements to provide such a high level of service. Without these standards in place,pleas of increased coverage fall on deaf ears.The word proper is where we are all having the problem. Are ABC OR BOC proper educational standards??
Granted current ABC certification guidelines are the most stringent. But it does not equate to exclusivity to quality O&P care.
If we were to implement and mandate the CAAHEP standards today , how many ABC practitioners would be fully in compliance!? The professional membership organizations of BOC and ABC need to come to agreement and present realistic federal reform policy parameters and grandfathering solutions to lawmakers of what proper educational standards are.
The professional ( ABC and BOC), must unite as professionals and consolidate their efforts as recognized health care providers in order to educate private and government reimbursers as to what constitutes fair coverage.
First you must demand adequate standards for yourselves as equals.
While each are arguing qualification superiority and equality, the federal government continues to wack away O&P coverages in an effort to penalize a unregulated industry and to assure reduction in the fraud and abuse of O&P services.
Fraud and abuse created by non-professional entities.
The profession and the consumer suffers and continues to get the short end of benefits.What's worse is the honorable profession of O&P gets a bad rap and image.One might ask who are the culperts of O&P fraud and abuse?What associations do they belong to?
I hope that this has better explained my position.The enemy is not AOPA,AAOP,IAOP, NAAOP,BOC or ABC.
The enemy is the failure of the leadership of these organizations to unilaterally present and support meaningfull O&P health care reform policies with federal standards.
Policies that will benefit the consumer , better assure their rehabilitation and improve the image of the profession.
In my humble opinion, the trade association of a unregulated industry cannot realistically and effectively lead the charge for serious meaninfull legislative reform. Such an effort is not professionally or consumer driven and could be identified as self serving and profit motivated.
Contact your professional organization's leaders and ask them to support establishing manatory federal guidelines for medicare reimbursed O&P services.Contact Eva Cargill at Congressman Wexler's office and offer your support .202-225-3001
Tony Barr
Citation
Tony Barr, “US Politics and BOC/ ABC Professionals,” Digital Resource Foundation for Orthotics and Prosthetics, accessed November 27, 2024, https://library.drfop.org/items/show/211928.
