IN THE NEWS
Congressmen Introduce Medicare ‘Incredible Bionic Man’ Debuts Orthotics and Prosthetics October 20 Improvement Act of 2013 The bipartisan Medicare Orthotics and Prosthetics Improvement Act of 2013 (HR 3112) was introduced in September by Rep. Glenn Thompson (R-Pennsylvania) and Rep. Mike Thompson (D-California). The legislation would prohibit the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) from making any payments for orthotics or prosthetics to a provider who is not appropriately licensed or certified. These reforms would ensure that only qualified O&P practitioners will be paid for serving Medicare beneficiaries. “Keeping fraudulent providers out of the Medicare program will save money and help make sure that high-quality care is provided,” says Glenn Thompson. “This bill will strengthen Medicare benefits for O&P beneficiaries by reducing fraud and abuse, improving health-care quality, and reducing Medicare spending.” “When unlicensed and unaccredited providers deliver prosthetic and orthotic services, both Medicare beneficiaries and the American taxpayer are shortchanged,” adds Glenn Thompson. “Despite previous congressional mandates, not enough has been done to ensure that legitimate and licensed practitioners are providing these items and services.” Though the Benefits and Protection Act of 2000 mandated that a “practitioner” or “supplier” had to be certified in order to be paid for certain O&P services under Medicare, CMS has not enforced these provisions, resulting in fraudulent payments and leaving Medicare patients vulnerable to substandard care.
TRANSITIONS
people in the news
Scheck & Siress has announced several hirings throughout the Chicago area: • Michael Cavanaugh, CPO, has joined the Lincoln Park office. • Jessica Gissal is the company’s new marketing manager. • Thomas O’Doherty, CP, has joined the Lincoln Park office. • Catherine Pospisil, CO/LO, has joined the Schaumburg office. • Alex Trumper, CPO/LPO, is the new laboratory manager at the Scheck & Siress Rush University Medical Center location. • Jason Wening, CPO/LPO, MS, FAAOP, is the new laboratory manager at the Lincoln Park location.
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O&P Almanac OCTOBER 2013
The Smithsonian Channel will feature the documentary “Incredible Bionic Man” on Sunday, October 20, at 8 p.m. EST. This two-hour special, which originally aired in the United Kingdom, demonstrates how a bionic man—comprised of artificial body parts designed by scientists around the world—was built by robotocists Richard Walker and Matthew Godden from Shadow Robot. The Bionic Man is made from advanced prosthetic arms and legs and artificial organs, and features a silicone face, with a total price tag of approximately $1 million. Though the robot does not possess a nervous system or brain to make the artificial parts work, they can be controlled remotely via computer and specially designed interfacing hardware. A Bluetooth connection is used to operate the prosthetic limbs. a
Jon Sigurdsson, CEO of Össur, was named one of the 20 greatest business thinkers in the Nordics by Nordic Business Report. Ottobock has hired Andreas Kannenberg, PhD, as executive medical director, North America. Hans Georg Näder, president and CEO of Ottobock, received the Honorary Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2013 AOPA World Congress.
IN MEMORIAM Ivan Long, CP(E), passed away August 6. Long manufactured and fit artificial limbs in Denver for 23 years, and then moved his business to Arvada, Colorado, for the next 24 years. Long is credited with developing the ischial containment socket around 1980, when he combined plug socket and quadrilateral socket designs to create a new socket, with the goal of stabilizing the pelvis and femur by controlling the ischium and the femur. His limb design was eventually referred to as “Normal Shape-Normal Alignment” above-knee prosthetic design.