ACA Mission Statement
Tony Barr
Description
Collection
Title:
ACA Mission Statement
Creator:
Tony Barr
Date:
7/5/2001
Text:
Mike,
That is all fine and good(comments below) but the reality is ACA 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 providers of custom O&P services,etc. Presently, there is just too many amputees that fall thru the cracks for proper coverage and 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 too young to qualify for Medicare.An employed person whose income is above the poverty level mostly does not qualify for Medicaid,but their children may if they have no other health insurance. Read Esther's AMP-L posted 7-3-01
There is a growing consensus that ACA is influenced by O&P manufacturers whom generate major revenue in advertising to their publications, In Motion and First Step, not to initiate or support real advocacy issues and reform legislation. This represents a substantial portion of $900,000 annual income, which is the amount listed as income outside of present annual federal grants of an another $1.4 million.That's a total income and budget of $2.3 million.
I would rather believe, as a life time member of ACA 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.
15 years ago ,there was the perception in the UK that the companies of O&P providers, were on east street.
The government took a long hard look and brought in a horrific system of competitive tendering (bidding) for service provision.
This is proposed presently here in the USA. The application in the UK however did drive prices down but left the O&P practitioners with an income range similar to US based provider as down and out!
The same beginnings are going on now in the US. I would suggest that the O&P profession and consumer i.e. individuals,support groups and organizations collaborate to look at reform and efficiency BEFORE these competitive bidding proposals are imposed from the outside .It will benefit professionals,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.
____________________________________________
Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one.
-- Albert Einstein
That is all fine and good(comments below) but the reality is ACA 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 providers of custom O&P services,etc. Presently, there is just too many amputees that fall thru the cracks for proper coverage and 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 too young to qualify for Medicare.An employed person whose income is above the poverty level mostly does not qualify for Medicaid,but their children may if they have no other health insurance. Read Esther's AMP-L posted 7-3-01
There is a growing consensus that ACA is influenced by O&P manufacturers whom generate major revenue in advertising to their publications, In Motion and First Step, not to initiate or support real advocacy issues and reform legislation. This represents a substantial portion of $900,000 annual income, which is the amount listed as income outside of present annual federal grants of an another $1.4 million.That's a total income and budget of $2.3 million.
I would rather believe, as a life time member of ACA 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.
15 years ago ,there was the perception in the UK that the companies of O&P providers, were on east street.
The government took a long hard look and brought in a horrific system of competitive tendering (bidding) for service provision.
This is proposed presently here in the USA. The application in the UK however did drive prices down but left the O&P practitioners with an income range similar to US based provider as down and out!
The same beginnings are going on now in the US. I would suggest that the O&P profession and consumer i.e. individuals,support groups and organizations collaborate to look at reform and efficiency BEFORE these competitive bidding proposals are imposed from the outside .It will benefit professionals,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.
____________________________________________
Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one.
-- Albert Einstein
Citation
Tony Barr, “ACA Mission Statement,” Digital Resource Foundation for Orthotics and Prosthetics, accessed November 1, 2024, https://library.drfop.org/items/show/216849.
