Missouri Prosthetic Companies Should Financialy Support Parity

Recently, the MCPLL has had a harder time than expected getting financial support for prosthetic parity from the prosthetic industry here in Missouri, who should be the first to support this legislation. Working-age amputees are leading the effort, and they stand to gain the most in terms of quality of life. But prosthetic companies are the ones with the money who understand the issue and deal with the insurance companies most directly, and they also stand to benefit financially from the passage of parity legislation. That means they should pay the bulk of what it costs to get any law passed in our society (for good or ill), and that means paying a professional representative, also known as a lobbyist. However, it’s becoming more and more difficult to stay current on our payments to our lobbyist, Kent Gaines, who is doing an excellent job gaining strategic allies in the legislature.

At first, several companies jumped at the chance to give, so we had money in the bank, and some of them have even stepped up to shell out more money as it starts to run out. But fewer and fewer practices seem interested. Amputees in Missouri are urged to take a look at the list below, also found in the right margin, where it will be constantly updated as new checks and pledges come in.

Illinois does things differently. They have a professional association of prosthetists and orthotists that collects dues, and some of that money goes to its government relations efforts, including parity. Here in Missouri, efforts to get just such an association started led first to our highest priority, helping our patients get this law passed.

Here is the list of contributing prosthetic practices in MO, in alphabetical order, also available on http://molimbloss.blogspot.com:

• Advanced O & P (pledged)
• Central Brace Company
• Hanger O & P
• Lux O & P (pledged)
• O & P Design
• O & P Labs
• P & O Care

The following individual prosthetists have also made personal contributions:

• Dan Luitjohan
• Richard Haws
• Richard Thiele