Vermont Becomes 10th State to Sign Prosthetic Parity Bill

Vermont became the tenth state to require health insurance companies to cover prosthetic care as they do all essential medical care when Governor James Douglas signed into law Senate Bill 280 at a ceremony on Wednesday, April 23.

Sponsored by Senator Doug Racine (D-Richmond) and Senator Ginny Lyons (D-Burlington), SB-280 requires health insurance plans to provide coverage for prosthetic devices at least equivalent to that provided by the federal Medicare program. This prevents insurance companies from imposing special exemptions or financial caps on prosthetic benefits.

"The new law is very important to Vermont residents living with the loss or absence of a limb who are seeking meaningful prosthetic care coverage from their health insurers," said Paddy Rossbach, CEO of the Amputee Coalition of America (ACA).

The ACA has been working with local amputee and advocate Eileen Casey since last fall to advance legislation. Casey lost her leg to cancer, and she was shocked to find out after her amputation that she would have to fight the insurance companies she had paid her premiums to in order to get coverage for her prosthesis. "I don't want anyone to have to go through the shock and trauma of something like this happening, and then to find out you have such limited insurance coverage even though you are paying into insurance to buy a prosthetic," Casey said.

Vermont joins California, Colorado, Indiana, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Oregon, and Rhode Island in protecting access to prosthetic care. Almost 30 states are working with the ACA to advance state health insurance parity.