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Mike Mitka

JAMA. 2008;299(18):2138-2140.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings.

Many nonmilitary amputees needing prostheses are facing a financial squeeze because the cost for high-tech devices continues to rise while reimbursement from private insurance remains woefully inadequate or is even being reduced or eliminated.

These patients must either pay the difference between a device's cost and the insurance coverage or forgo prostheses that could provide a higher quality of life. Some use old artificial limbs that no longer fit correctly, which can lead to secondary medical conditions requiring costly treatments such as knee replacement surgery.

Health insurers often fail to adequately cover the cost of limb prostheses for amputees. (Photo credit: Peter Menzel/www.sciencesource.com)

The number of such patients will only increase as an aging population is coupled with a growing rate of diabetes and its associated risk of vascular complications that lead to amputations. Today, almost 2 million people in the United States—including 70 000 younger than 18 . . . [Full Text of this Article]

THINKING OF COST