Clarifying and Strengthening Coordination of Care in the Medicare Therapeutic Shoe Program
The current process and Medicare contractor requirements for determining eligibility for Medicare’s Therapeutic Shoe Program for Patients with Diabetes, and for furnishing this medically necessary benefit, are unnecessarily burdensome and frequently bogged down, leading to frustration on the part of the certifying physician, prescribing doctor, and supplier. The HELLPP Act would alleviate this problem.
Fact Sheet: Studies Prove Podiatrists Prevent Complications, Provide Savings
According to the CDC, more than 29 million Americans live with diabetes. Diabetes is the leading cause of non-traumatic lower-limb amputation; however, amputations can be prevented. Two peer-reviewed published studies evaluated care by podiatrists for patients with diabetes and demonstrated that compared to other health-care professionals, podiatrists are best equipped to treat lower extremity complications from diabetes, prevent amputations, reduce hospitalizations and provide savings to our health-care delivery systems.
Podiatric Medicine: Expertise in Foot and Ankle Care
Doctors of podiatric medicine are podiatric physicians and surgeons, qualified by their education, training, and experience to diagnose and treat conditions affecting the foot, ankle, and related structures of the leg.
The HELLPP Act: Strengthening Medicaid Program Integrity
The HELLPP Act contains a provision that will strengthen Medicaid integrity by closing an existing loophole for tax delinquents and returning millions of dollars to the American health-care system.
The Majority of Foot/Ankle Care in the US is Performed by Podiatric Physicians but Medicaid Patients May Not Have Access
Even though foot and ankle care is generally a covered benefit under Medicaid, the program currently teases out a separate podiatry benefit as being “optional” for patients, focusing on the provider of services, rather than ensuring coverage of medically necessary care regardless of the qualified professional furnishing such care. Thus, Medicaid effectively discriminates and can arbitrarily preclude patient access to a licensed and credentialed specialized physician class even though the services they provide—foot and ankle care—are a covered benefit.