Medicare AFO Height Requirement Rescinded

As expected, the height requirement for an AFO is being removed by medicare.

Let’s get on with helping people walk!

Below is the text from the Medicare website:

February 6, 2013

Ankle-Foot Orthoses/Knee-Ankle-Foot Orthoses LCD related Policy Article – Revised
The related Policy Article for the Ankle-Foot Orthosis/Knee-Ankle-Foot Orthosis is being revised. The Policy Article with an effective date of January 1, 2013 included Coding Guidelines for AFOs that included a height requirement. The height requirement is being removed. The effective date for the revised Policy Article is for dates of service on or after January 1, 2013.

See for yourself here:
http://www.cgsmedicare.com/jc/pubs/news/2013/0213/cope21209.html

Again, the only type of AFO that requires a PDAC Coding verification letter is the L1906. Insightful does not use that code for any of its current bracing. To verify this for yourself, please see the PDAC website listing those that are required. The link to this page is below.

https://www.dmepdac.com/review/items_requiring_coding_verification_reviews.html

Finally, keep in mind that the pretibial shell that has been offered by our competitors is essentially a custom shin guard, the argument that this provides axially unloading as medical justification is risky in our opinion.

Foot of the Week – Episode 25 – Best Post Tib Brace

In this video blog, we discuss the importance of casting the post tib patient’s foot and ankle in a neutral position. If the cast is taken in a full weight bearing position, it can be difficult to provide the needed correction to the AFO or custom ankle brace for posterior tibial tendonitis.

Foot of the Week – Episode 6 – AFO Solutions

In this week’s video blog, we show you our preferred method of “ankle brace casting” for a custom AFO. Although, we will take any type of cast, we prefer the STS sock, ranging from STS slipper casts, 3/4 length STS casts and full length STS sock casts. The STS slipper sock would be suitable for the Step-Smart as we only need the plantar surface of the foot (a partially weight bearing foam box impression also works for the Step-Smart brace for foot drop). A 3/4 length STS cast works well for any of our Blaze braces (designed for early stage Post tib or typical ankle instability issues) where the cast goes just above the malleoli, and the full length STS sock works best for the Schooner style Gaunlet brace (designed for late stage post tib) which is similar to the Arizona brace.

For more information, call us at 207-885-0414 or see our website at http://www.insightful-products.com

Foot of the Week – Episode 5 – AFO Solutions

In this week’s video blog, we show you some of the pitfalls of brace casting for AFO’s and our preferred method of “ankle brace casting” for a custom AFO. We cover some of the common mistakes of brace casting as well as the various types of casts ranging from STS slipper casts, 3/4 length STS casts and full length STS sock casts.

For more information, call us at 207-885-0414 or see our website at http://www.insightful-products.com