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Subcommittee tables prosthetics-coverage clarification, sends bill to HERC
Summary
HB 216, which would clarify insurance coverage to ensure prosthetics meet mobility and activity needs (including for children who outgrow devices), was laid on the table 9–0 with a request that HERC review the policy details.
Delegate Helmer presented HB 216 to clarify existing insurance coverage for prosthetics and orthotics so that recipients — including growing children and veterans — could receive mobility-appropriate and activity-specific devices. "This bill is about patient access, not about business profit," certified orthotist Jessica Norell told the panel, asking members to support the "So Everybody Can Move" provisions.
Parents and beneficiaries described practical impacts. Megan Hinkle testified about her daughter Ellie, born without a lower right leg, and said the bill would codify the need for more than a single prosthetic over time. Seventh grader Gavin described his experience after an amputation for cancer and urged passage so amputees can obtain athletic prosthetics to return to sports.
Peter Thomas of the National Association for the Advancement of Orthotics and Prosthetics, who also identified as a bilateral amputee, emphasized the medical necessity of varied prosthetics and said clarifying the state's obligations would reduce long-term illness and increase independence.
The subcommittee voted to lay HB 216 on the table with a letter to HERC requesting review, 9–0.
