Dear Senator __________
I am writing to ask you to support S.773, “Insurance
Fairness for Amputees” which is currently in the Senate committee on Health,
Education, Labor and Pensions.
Many amputees who have insurance do not receive the
same standard of care that is customary from the Veteran’s Administration,
Medicare and Medicaid. Children with limb loss are often limited to “one limb
for life.” Medically necessary prosthetics are arbitrarily designated as “luxurious,
deluxe, convenient or performance enhancing” and thereby denied. Families
mortgage their homes or give up their child’s college education or retirement
savings in order to pay out of pocket for a prosthetic limb. Twenty states have
passed laws that prevent this kind of insurance discrimination but self-insured
plans covered by ERISA are exempt. S.773 would prevent this exemption and would
provide insurance fairness for all amputees in America.
This is not a mandate or a hand out. It is only
fair. Prosthetic limbs would be covered like any other medical expense
according to the plan contract. States that have passed the insurance fairness
laws have shown that insurance premium costs would increase by only pennies a
month.
All people with limb loss who pay for insurance
should receive appropriate and medically necessary treatment: their arms and
legs. Prosthetics provide dignity and self-reliance. Prosthetics put people
back to work. Returning amputees to the workforce strengthens a community and
its economy.
Sincerely,
