March 4, 2015

Tell your elected officials to support the HELLPP Act today!

Yesterday, US Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Charles Schumer (D-NY) introduced S 626, the Helping Ensure Life- and Limb-Saving Access to Podiatric Physicians (HELLPP) Act, in the US Senate. Also yesterday, a companion bill, HR 1221, was introduced in the House of Representatives by US Reps. Renee Ellmers (R-NC) and Diana DeGette (D-CO).

The bipartisan HELLPP Act includes multiple comprehensive reforms that will enable podiatric physicians to continue to save lives, limbs, and health-care dollars. The net result of implementing these common-sense provisions would be significant improvements to patient access to quality foot and ankle care and tremendous savings for the Medicaid and Medicare programs.

If enacted as written, the HELLPP Act will accomplish three important goals:

• Recognize podiatrists as physicians under Medicaid
• Clarify coordination of care in the Medicare diabetic shoe program
• Strengthen Medicaid program integrity

Once again, APMA needs your help to garner cosponsors for the HELLPP Act. Our efforts in the 113th Congress resulted in 135 combined cosponsors. Additionally, provisions from the HELLPP Act were included in the US Senate’s Medicare/SGR overhaul bills. We strongly urge to you to contact your members of Congress today through our eAdvocacy site to join your colleagues in demanding Congress do the right thing for Medicaid and Medicare patients by supporting the HELLPP Act.

More information about the HELLPP Act and resources you can share with your colleagues in other medical fields can be found online at www.apma.org/saving.

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