A bipartisan bill, the Wounded Warrior Research Enhancement Act, which would fund and advance O&P research for veterans, was introduced this month by U.S. Rep. Matt Cartwright (D-PA). The bill, H.R. 4587, would award $30 million in grants to establish a centralized outcomes-based research collection in O&P.
“We have a moral obligation to provide our soldiers with the best healthcare available,” Cartwright said. “With a large portion of O&P practitioners facing retirement, we need to harness this tremendous resource of institutional knowledge before we lose it. Comprehensive research would save time and money by providing practitioners with the knowledge they need to improve the likelihood that a veteran‘s first prosthetic device will also be the best match.“
Earlier this year, Cartwright also introduced the Wounded Warrior Workforce Enhancement Act, H.R. 3696, which would support colleges and universities seeking to establish degree programs to train specialists in O&P. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) introduced companion legislation to H.R. 4587 and H.R. 3696 in the Senate.