Triple A Study Act
Bill: H.R.2461 | Sponsor: Rep. Butterfield, G. K. (D-NC)
Policy area: Health

Summary:
Access to Assistive Technology and Devices for Americans Study Act or the Triple A Study Act
This bill directs the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to study issues related to health insurance and other coverage for assistive technologies, such as prosthetic devices and custom orthoses, for those who experience amputations or live with a limb difference.
In conducting this study, the GAO must include comparisons of claims and other data from Medicare, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and commercial health insurers.

To direct the Government Accountability Office to evaluate appropriate 
coverage of assistive technologies provided to patients who experience 
                amputation or live with limb difference.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Access to Assistive Technology and 
Devices for Americans Study Act'' or the ``Triple A Study Act''.

SEC. 2. APPROPRIATE COVERAGE OF ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGIES.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 18 months after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States 
shall evaluate, and submit to Congress a report on such evaluation, the 
appropriate coverage, through insurance or otherwise, of assistive 
technologies provided to patients who experience amputation or live 
with limb difference, particularly prosthetic devices and custom 
orthoses, including--
            (1) timely access to care, including educating patients 
        regarding options for assistive technologies;
            (2) assessments and guidelines for assistive device 
        determinations;
            (3) matching specific assistive devices with the needs of 
        the individual beneficiary, such as women;
            (4) the affordability of assistive devices;
            (5) the provision of rehabilitation services to support 
        acclimation to assistive devices; and
            (6) appropriate timelines for assessments for surgery and 
        assessments of assistive devices.
    (b) Comparison of Certain Data.--As part of the evaluation 
conducted under subsection (a), the Comptroller General shall compare 
data on practices and outcomes derived from the Medicare program under 
title XVIII of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395 et seq.), the 
Department of Veterans Affairs, and the commercial health insurance 
market relating to the coverage of assistive technologies, including--
            (1) the percentage of patients who get access to assistive 
        devices;
            (2) performance measures that monitor the timeliness of 
        processing prosthetic prescriptions;
            (3) coverage denials and overturn rates;
            (4) coding for physician or physical therapy or 
        occupational therapy assessments, including whether a 
        prosthetist was engaged in the assessment;
            (5) the rate of patients returning to work in general, and 
        after receiving a prosthetic device comparable to other 
        assistive technologies;
            (6) reductions in long-term assistive technology services 
        and supports;
            (7) with respect to those using assistive technologies, 
        policies to reduce falls and secondary complications, such as 
        diabetes, heart disease, vascular disease, and others; and
            (8) the amount expended by individual entities on 
        prosthetics relative to total amount expended by such entities.
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