This is very good news!! We need your help to keep this bill moving forward! 

1.      Contact the Committee Chair of Health and Human Services.  Your letter should stress the need to get the bill out of committee for a vote on the floor.  See sample letter below.

Rep. (Representative) George Kenney

1. Address: 108 Ryan Building, House Box 202020, Harrisburg, PA 17120-2020
2. Phone: 717/787-8523
3. E-mail: Gkenney@pahousegop.com

2.      Contact the committee members today!  Tell them why they should support this important bill and ask them to schedule a committee hearing on the bill. 

The list of committee members can be found at: www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/legis/home/member_information/representatives_sc.cfm#hhs

Of the 28 committee members, five are cosponsors (supporters) of the bill, including the Subcommittee Chair on Health, Rep. McIlhattan and the Secretary, Rep. Myers.  The other committee cosponsors include Rep. Bebko-Jones, Rep. Kotik and Rep. Lederer.

3)   Send a letter to the elected officials who represent you.  And remember, a truly great letter will also include your own thoughts, stories and reasons for pushing for parity!

Search for your House and Senate members at: www.legis.state.pa.us.  Just enter your ZIP code in the upper right corner.

If your representative is a cosponsor of the bill, be sure to thank them!

Current cosponsors include: O'Neill, McIlhattan, Bebko-Jones, Belfanti, Beyer, Caltagirone, Cawley, Crahalla, Creighton, DeWeese, Fabrizio, Freeman, Geist, George, Goodman, Grucela, Harhai, Hennessey, James, Kotik, Lederer, Markosek, McGeehan, Myers, Pallone, Parker, Payne, Phillips, Pistella, Pyle, Scavello, Siptroth, Solobay, Surra, E.Z. Taylor, Thomas, Tigue and Youngblood

Thank you to those of you who have already written to your legislators in support of prosthetic parity.  With your help, we can keep this important bill moving forward.  Please, take action today!  

For more information, contact us at 202/742-1880 or APPLL@amputee-coalition.org.   

Sample Letter

Dear Representative ____,

I am writing in response to HB 2718, a bill for prosthetic coverage.  In return for premiums paid for group health insurance, consumers expect to be covered for catastrophic illness or injury. Sadly, without legislation to ensure coverage, many people living with the loss or absence of a limb face discouraging obstacles when trying to obtain prosthetic care. Current changes in insurance plans are having a devastating effect on amputees and their families.

For example, companies will pay the surgical cost of amputating a limb, and for subsequent amputations caused by inactivity, while simultaneously limiting or even eliminating prosthetic coverage. Other payers impose such unrealistic annual and lifetime caps on prosthetic coverage that people with limb loss are unable to obtain prostheses.

When an individual discovers that prosthetic care is not covered, they may have to resort to using retirement or children's college savings to purchase a prosthesis in order to remain working.  Some take mortgages out on their homes, try to get bank loans, and even use a series of high interest credit cards to get the prosthetic limbs they need.

Obviously, the biggest concern anybody has about passing a new mandate is cost. People fear that big jumps in the cost of insurance will reduce access to healthcare.  None of us want to see health insurance costs pushed beyond the reach of the average consumer. In actuality, the public sector would see savings because appropriate private insurance coverage prevents shifting costs to the public sector.  Our best financial data to support this comes from Colorado.  They were the first state to pass prosthetic parity legislation in 1998.

A Department of Health Care Policy & Financing report found that the maximum increase in premiums for prosthetic provision would be .0008% per member, or about 12 cents per month. This cost estimate did not take into account that there would also be a cost savings by both the private and public sector. 

In the first year of implementation, covering prosthetics and orthotics resulted in a net savings of almost half a million dollars.  These savings were for medical expenses only.
The provision of prostheses results in a variety of benefits. Some of these are fiscal in nature, while others are more related to quality of life issues, which are less measurable. 

Nonfiscal benefits include a reduction in the secondary conditions caused by a sedentary lifestyle, less dependence on caregivers, and lowered risk of diabetes-related complications leading to additional limb amputation. In addition, this segment of the population can continue to be contributing members of society instead of becoming dependent on it.

Both the financial and social benefits provide a strong case for prosthetic coverage.  I urge you to support HB 2718.  I am also requesting that HB 2718 be scheduled for a public hearing in order to allow you the opportunity to hear from people in Pennsylvania about this important bill.    

Sincerely,
Name, Address, Phone