Diabetic Shoes Cont'd - H.R. 704

Once again, Federal legislation has been sponsored to allow nurse practitioners to certify their patients' need for diabetic shoes. Please contact your legislators - both House (https://www.congress.gov/members/find-your-member )and Senate (Mark Kelly and Krysten Sinema) and encourage them to co-sponsor this bill. Here's a sample text to get you started (feel free to add a personal note about how this has affected you or your patients directly):

As a nurse practitioner (NP) providing health care services to your constituents, I am writing to ask you to cosponsor the Promoting Access to Diabetic Shoes Act, H.R. 704.  This bill would authorize nurse practitioners to certify their patients with diabetes' need for therapeutic shoes.

Current Medicare policy limits my ability to provide this care for my patients, because NPs are unable to certify their patients with diabetes' need for therapeutic shoes. Even though NPs currently provide all aspects of care to these patients, they must send their patients with diabetes who need therapeutic shoes to a physician to certify that need.  Additionally, according to current statute, the certifying physician must be the provider treating the patient's diabetic condition going forward.  This can be extremely burdensome for patients who have been receiving care from an NP for years until the point at which they have required therapeutic shoes.

Delays in treatment, caused by this burdensome statute, jeopardize the health of patients and cause the Medicare program to incur additional costs by requiring the participation of an additional provider.

Please cosponsor the Promoting Access to Diabetic Shoes Act (H.R. 704) which would authorize NPs to certify their patients' need for therapeutic shoes.