01/29/2021    Billy Dabdoub, DPM

Time for Podiatry to Say Something About DM Shoe Requirements (Michael J Marcus, DPM)

I want to thank my colleagues for raising this
important issue at the beginning of this
congressional session. I’ll start by recommending
that they can begin to educate themselves on this
and other issues impacting our profession by
becoming members of their state component and
members of APMA. Our professional associations
are our voice in our state and national capitals,
and they keep us informed about what’s happening
to our profession and the threats which we must
overcome.

APMA has been actively working to address the
problems with the Medicare Therapeutic Shoe
Program for patients with diabetes for more than
a decade. Several resolutions have been passed
over the years by the APMA House of Delegates to
address this issue and to reinforce the
importance and priority that the profession
places on finding a solution to this problem.
Attacking the issue from both a regulatory and
legislative standpoint, APMA staff and contract
lobbyists continue to meet with and educate
representatives from CMS and the members of
Congress who sit on the relevant committees.
Since 2013, APMA has included language to fix the
shoe problem in its bill to address Medicaid
recognition, which has garnered significant
attention in Congress. Over the last decade, APMA
and state component leaders have spent hundreds
of hours lobbying members of Congress to support
and pass our bill and have invited APMA members
and friends of the profession to participate and
to advocate to policymakers on this issue.

So that’s what APMA has been doing to address the
issue. Once more, if you have not had experience
participating in the legislative and regulatory
process, I urge you to get involved at the state
and national level. It is eye-opening. There are
inherent challenges to this process, most
significantly that it takes time and a combined
effort, so the more constituents who are
involved, the better our chances for effecting
real change in this situation.

Billy Dabdoub, DPM, Slidell, LA

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