Medicare change could affect boy’s prosthesis choice

Shannon Simm made a promise to herself after her son Nathan, 2, had his leg amputated in 2013 due to fibular hemimelia, a birth defect where some or all of a person’s fibula is missing.

“I wasn’t ever going to tell him he can’t do something because of his right leg,” she said.

But new regulations, partly owing to a “60 Minutes” expose on fraud within Medicare concerning prosthetics, may make keeping that promise difficult.

Response to the report, as outlined by the Amputee Coalition, involved investigations, reports, findings of fact and appeals overturning earlier decisions.

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