Utah Legislature: Prosthetics bill passes House committee

SALT LAKE CITY — A bill intending to require insurance companies to cover prosthetic limbs the same as devices used to replace hip, knees and other joints was approved in committee by a split vote Tuesday and sent to the House floor for consideration.

HB66 is similar to legislation that was approved in the House in the 2009 session but eventually died in the Senate just prior to a vote the final night.

Members of the House Business and Labor Committee debated the bill for more than half an hour. Some said they agree that parity seems only fair. Others said they were concerned the proposal injects government oversight too deeply into the private insurance market that is already beginning to handle the issue as it develops new benefits plans as part of the Utah's health care reform effort.

Tami Stanley, an amputee and an advocate for the Amputee Coalition of Utah, said that insurance companies and a few lawmakers are opposed to the measure, despite the strong general support in both chambers that "it's simply the right thing to do."

See the bill at le.utah.gov/~2010/bills/hbillint/hb0066.htm.

— James Thalman